Imperium Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Imperium Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 31, 2016

There’s a certain probably unintentional but perhaps unavoidable comic irony when FBI Agent Angela Zamparo (Toni Colette) starts schooling fellow agent Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe) about various white supremacist groups and repeatedly references “mud people,” which some may find an almost unconscious reference to “mud bloods” in Radcliffe’s iconic Harry Potter franchise. That perhaps understandable connection aside, Radcliffe is kind of a fascinating actor to choose to play an FBI agent who goes undercover in just such a white supremacist group, considering the fact that Radcliffe is hardly the burly sort that one tends to associate with white supremacist factions. But that’s part of the conceit of Imperium, a film that is based at least in part on the real life experiences of Michael German, who is revealed in some supplements on this Blu-ray to be considerably beefier than Radcliffe, something that perhaps puts the lie to German’s assertions in those supplements that he was a pretty unlikely sort to (physically) blend in with white supremacists. Be that as it may, Imperium details the efforts of Nate to infiltrate a group of white power sorts who may also have come into possession of Caesium-137, a highly radioactive compound which could be utilized to make a dirty bomb. The film begins with a sequence documenting the arrest of a would be domestic terrorist that brings up possibilities of entrapment (on the part of the FBI) that were actually part of a headline making case here in my hometown of Portland a while ago. Nate is shown to be naturally sympathetic to the guy arrested (perhaps because it was Nate who initially started poking into the guy’s tendencies), and that brings him to the attention of Zamparo, who works “downstairs” in a domestic terrorism unit. With the radioactive booty missing, there are varying FBI hypotheses as to who has it, but Zamparo is convinced it’s a white supremacist group, and she more or less recruits Nate to be her mole for reasons which pretty much simply have to be accepted in order for Imperium’s unlikely but involving plot dynamics to kick into high gear.

When Angela plops down a copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People on a bar table in front of Nate and tells him it’s the only “experience” he’ll need in order to blend in with a group of domestic terrorists, Nate is initially unimpressed, but Imperium doesn’t really waste much time providing any psychological angst in the young agent, instead simply documenting his decision to give himself a life altering haircut. It’s a kind of silly artifice, one Radcliffe struggles to make believable almost by force of will since the screenplay doesn’t really offer any motivation.

Aside from that perhaps cheeky use of Carnegie’s self help tome, at least one other literary reference enters the fray courtesy of the following epigraph which begins the film:

Words build bridges into unexplored regions.

That may seem like an innocent enough statement, and maybe even a laudable one, until it’s revealed that a certain Adolf Hitler said it. The ability to persuade untold masses plays into the subplot of Imperium, for Angela is convinced that so-called “alt right” radio talkshow host Dallas Wolf (Tracy Letts) is giving literal marching orders to various white power groups, also while leaking the fact that the government is desperately trying to find some missing radioactive material. Before Angela can get Nate to Wolf, though, she helps him ingratiate himself with some lower level toughs, including skinhead Vince Sargent (Pawel Szajda). That relationship leads Nate up the veritable ladder, first to a higher level supremacist named Andrew Blackwell (Chris Sullivan) and then to a kind of unlikely suburban type named Gerry Conway (Sam Trammell).

Imperium tries to make the case that there are philosophers, at least of a sort, in the ranks of white supremacists, and that not all skinheads are the jackboot wearing thugs that seem to make the evening news. The screenplay also has a somewhat ironic take on mass media (or what passes for mass media in this niche market) salesmanship, where even those spewing the rankest racist garbage may be in it for a quick buck and not due to any kind of shared ideology. The film builds up some significant tension, only to have it dissolve in a somewhat bewildering feint that then becomes subsumed by a “reveal” that most folks will have seen coming virtually from the get go, due at least partially to the fact that part of the film's very premise seems to hinge on seemingly "normal" people having outrageous views.

The film is slightly preposterous on its face but actually has some interesting exchanges. While supposed character beats like having Nate read The Mayor of Casterbridge or listen to Brahms seem extracurricular at best, Radcliffe actually does a nice job of creating a character having to forage through some pretty dense (in both senses of the word) personalities. While parts of Imperium have the ring of authenticity, the film may ultimately seem unbelievable simply because it manages to tie everything up into a reasonably happily ever after scenario, something that seems far removed from many current headlines concerning those holding racist or white supremacist views.

Imperium Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Imperium is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. In what is getting to be a kind of annoying trait, IMDb lists no camera for the shoot, but a couple of online sites suggest this was digitally captured, probably with Arri cameras. Director Daniel Ragussis and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski may not exactly go for a documentarian approach here (other than what look like a few source photos and footage from actual skinhead meetings), and so the film is slightly glossy looking at times, something that perhaps works subliminally against its supposedly gritty context. Detail levels are generally very high, at least when scenes aren't dimly lit or bathed in odd hues (one concert scene could have been lifted from Green Room — see sreenshot 13). While not especially "vivid", the palette looks reasonably accurate. There are no problems with image instability and no compression anomalies to report.

Imperium Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Imperium's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 has some pretty forceful and impressive low end at times, something that's at least a little surprising since this drama doesn't really tip over into shoot 'em outs and the like. But some rumbling LFE at various moments helps to create a rather sinister mood, something that is also helped by Will Bates' score. A couple of the more crowded scenes, including the aforementioned skinhead concert, provide good immersion and consistent surround activity. Dialogue is cleanly rendered and well prioritized on this problem free track.

Imperium Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features Writer/Director Daniel Ragussis and Writer Michael German (upon whose experiences this film is ostensibly based).


• Making Imperium (1080p; 18:37) is a standard issue EPK wth interviews and scenes from the film.


• "Living Undercover" Featurette (1080p; 3:44) is another brief EPK which despite its brevity manages to repeat some of the very same interview snippets that are found in the above supplement.


• Cast/Crew Interviews

  TimesTalks Interview with Writer/Director Daniel Ragussis and Actor Daniel Radcliffe - Part 1 (1080i; 28:46)

  TimesTalks Interview with Writer/Director Daniel Ragussis and Actor Daniel Radcliffe - Part 2 (1080i; 28:29)

  Daniel Radcliffe (1080p; 6:16)

  Sam Trammell (1080p; 10:39)

  Michael German - Writer (1080p; 30:12)

• Imperium Trailer (1080p; 2:19)

Imperium Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you were able to swallow Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent resurrected dead guy in Swiss Army Man, you probably won't have that much trouble believing him as an FBI agent who goes undercover in a white supremacist group. That perhaps stretching of credulity aside, Imperium makes some really interesting points about the supposed "intellectual" side of this movement while also trodding a fairly rote procedural line as the FBI attempts to close in on missing radioactive material. Performances are generally very strong throughout, as are technical merits on this Blu-ray, and with a certain laissez faire attitude granted some of the film's more incredible conceits, Imperium comes Recommended.