Innocence Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Innocence Blu-ray Movie Review

Guilty of being dumb and predictable.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 12, 2015

Now, I’d normally be the last person to ever accuse a marketing company from being a bit discursive in its attempts to get butts into seats when a new film comes along, but the trailer for Innocence included on this new Blu-ray (as its sole supplement) belies its urge for so- called “YA” cred by explicitly stating that there’s a new “saga” (a redolent word for a certain demographic) on tap, and that the film is based on “the bestselling author,” an oddly specific descriptor utilizing a definite article without ever naming the scribe. The implication is clear: Innocence “must” be some new Stephanie Meyer opus, following in the wake of the enormously successful Twilight Forever: The Complete Saga. Except, guess what?: it isn’t. Innocence is a moody, sometimes nicely atmospheric, supernaturally tinged drama that is based on a novel by Jane Mendelsohn. The film traffics not in vampires (at least not the traditional kind) and werewolves and instead exploits a musty premise that ultimately collapses under the weight of its own (il?)logic, detailing the plight of a young girl named Beckett (Sophie Curtis, looking for all the world like a teenaged Gillian Anderson) who, nursing some trauma from the recent horrifying death of her mother, is enrolled in a tony prep school in the upper echelons of Manhattan. Beckett is initially so subsumed in grief over her parental loss that she fails to recognize that things aren’t exactly “normal” at Hamilton Academy, a blithe ignorance that is only momentarily shattered when an obviously troubled young co-ed commits suicide right in front of Beckett and her stunned father Miles (Linus Roache, once again doing his pitch perfect American accent).

There have been a number of times in the writing lives of each of the reviewers on Blu-ray.com where we’ve been caught completely by surprise when readers accuse us of posting “spoilers,” when our contention would be that we’re merely “describing the plot.” Some of these supposed “spoilers” are on the order of “How could you divulge that the Titanic sinks?,” but others are a closer call where it’s at least arguable that compromising content was shared. There’s absolutely no debate over how completely, ridiculously revelatory Innocence’s tag line is, though, and it’s especially notable that it’s emblazoned across the front of this Blu-ray’s insert with a seemingly sanguine lack of concern that it truly gives away the entire “secret” of the film in one brief sentence. I actually won’t reprint the tag line here, but it’s there for everyone to see on the cover, and in subsequent paragraphs of this review, I will deal with the very subject matter it discloses, so forewarned is forearmed (and/or fore-eyed).

Before the film finally divulges what its tag line states outright, though, there is a rather arcane amount of material that must be worked through. That includes the film’s opening prologue of sorts, where Beckett, her mother and father are all on an oceanside vacation and Beckett and her mom go for a surf. It’s not completely clear what happens, but the upshot is that Beckett’s mom perishes in the water. The film quickly segues to a few months later, where Miles has sold the family home and is moving both him and his daughter to rather tony digs in Manhattan’s upper west side. In the first of several probably needless jump cuts, Beckett goes exploring in the vast apartment and maybe—maybe—sees a ghost in one of the closets.

That initial vision of the beyond is soon supplanted by more mundane worries as Beckett attempts to matriculate into the upper crust prep school Miles has enrolled her in, courtesy of his friend and fellow Hamilton parent, Natalie Crawford (Stephanie March, in what must have been something of a Law and Order reunion with Roache). Natalie is part of a coffee klatsch of sorts that meets at the school and includes a bevy of other impeccably beautiful women, including school nurse Pamela Hamilton (Kelly Reilly). When a troubled girl rather improbably named Sunday (Chloe Levine) is seen by Beckett cutting herself with a razor in the restroom and then later commits suicide by jumping off a school building (right in front of Beckett and Miles), Miles at least considers pulling his daughter from the school. Beckett, despite having had another of those pesky visions from the beyond (this time of the school’s carpeting turning to a sickly blood soaked color), tells her Dad she’s sick of “running away” and wants to confront any troubles that rear their ugly heads.

That finally sets the film into its main component, which deals with Beckett’s slow realization that Natalie and several of the other adult women at the school are harboring a “horrible” secret, something that has been alluded to earlier when Pamela mentions her own schooldays at Hamilton, which were “a long time ago.” The very premise of this film is so resolutely dunderheaded that it almost defies description, and it certainly defies suspension of disbelief. This gaggle of “eternally youthful” women have been slurping down the blood of virgins for untold decades, even centuries, and yet no one has ever seemed to notice. Doesn’t Hamilton have an Alumni Association that might have perked up at the sight of teachers from the 19th (or earlier) century still hanging around, looking just as chipper as ever?

Despite the silliness that undercuts Innocence’s effectiveness, director Hilary Brougher does manage to wrest some fitful creepiness out of the film at times, especially when Beckett comes off as a sort of teenaged version of Rosemary Woodhouse in Rosemary's Baby, a helpless female surrounded by an all encompassing conspiracy that is almost too horrible to imagine. In fact it’s one of Innocence’s missteps that the film doesn’t make the conspiracy all encompassing, something that gives Beckett a support system at least, but a plot point that at the same time removes some of the threat involved since there are a number of supporting characters hanging around the fringes of the story who know at least some of what’s going on and aren’t going to let Beckett go to that sacrificial altar without a fight.

Innocence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Innocence is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Digitally shot with the Arri Alexa, the image quality is typically sharp and well detailed, but struggles at times to provide reasonable detail and especially shadow detail in a number of dark, and at times rather aggressively color graded, sequences. A lot of the film plays out in shades of blue and gray, as can be easily seen in the screenshots accompanying this review, and that tactic tends to suck minimal but still noticeable amounts of detail out of at least midrange and wide shots. When the film ventures out of doors in normal lighting, the palette and detail both perk up materially, with excellent clarity and commendable detail. There is a very light dusting of noise in a few very dark shots, but otherwise this is a problem free if somewhat flat looking presentation that has good image stability.

Innocence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Innocence's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix isn't a riot of immersion, but it builds anxiety steadily in several sequences due to good, rumbly LFE, moody, foreboding synth washes in the score, and the occasional well placed sound effect in the surround channels. Dialogue is presented very cleanly, and in a few exterior scenes (like some of the skateboarding sequences), there's a nicely authentic feel to the ambient environmental sounds. Fidelity is excellent and there are no issues of any kind to warrant concern.

Innocence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 2:40)

Innocence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Innocence could have been a sly, winking send up of the "abstinence" movement, given the Hamilton faculty's emphasis on remaining a virgin (albeit for nefarious reasons). Instead, this rote and too predictable entry will probably only encourage paying audiences to abstain from viewing it. Performances are generally strong, though, and the Blu-ray offers good technical merits (if a dearth of supplemental material) for those considering a purchase.