Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Junebug Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 4, 2009

Phil Morrison's award-winning "Junebug" (2005) arrives on Blu-ray boasting an excellent transfer, personally supervised by the director of the film. The disc contains a number of great supplemental features, including an audio commentary with Amy Adams and Embeth Davidz, ten deleted scenes, an exclusive interview and Q&A session with Amy Adams, etc. All of the supplemental features are perfectly playable on North American players. Courtesy of UK-based Eureka Entertainment. Region-Free.

Thinking

Junebug is a film about two very different worlds. Madeline (Embeth Davidtz, The Emperor's Club), an art dealer from Chicago, represents one of them. She is an energetic professional whose life is fast and busy. Madeline’s husband, George (Alessandro Nivola, Laurel Canyon), has been extremely supportive of her career.

An opportunity arises and Madeline decides to travel to North Carolina where she would meet a local painter, David Wark (Frank Hoyt Taylor, True Colors). George offers to accompany Madeline so that they could visit his family, which happens to reside not too far away from the painter's studio. Both are very excited about the trip.

Once in North Carolina, however, Madeline is introduced into a world she never knew George was a part of before he moved to Chicago. His mother Peg (Celia Weston, Dead Man Walking), an old fashioned and very suspicious woman, quickly makes it clear that even though Madeline is married to George, she isn’t part of the family yet. George’s father Eugene (Scott Wilson, Pearl Harbor) a quiet man who has gotten used to being pushed around, is a bit warmer to Madeline. His brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie, Johnny Got His Gun), who feels that most of his life he has been neglected because of George’s career aspirations, shows little excitement when the couple arrives. Only Ashley (Amy Adams, Moonlight Serenade) Johnny’s pregnant wife, embraces Madeline immediately.

Negotiations with the painter come to a halt. Madeline, who has been hoping to sign a long-term exclusivity contract, is told that another gallery has lured him. She tries to remain calm but everyone in George’s family immediately notices that something is off. Other than Ashley and George, the rest conclude that Madeline is weird. Things get very interesting when Ashley goes into labor and is taken to a local hospital.

Audience and critics’ favorite, Junebug is a smartly written film about perceptions. Its protagonists are very real, reminding us of people we know. Their words and actions are raw, often contentious and far from being politically correct.

Even though we get to spend a lot of time with these characters, however, the narrative does not encourage us to side with them. On the contrary, we only feel comfortable analyzing what we see from afar. This is one of the primary reasons why Junebug is an excellent film – even silence in it is loaded with meaning.

The terrific overlapping of humor with drama is another reason why Junebug resonates so well with its audiences. There is a constant shift of emotions in the film that provides it with a very special flavor. In a matter of seconds, the sad becomes funny then sad again.

The cast is outstanding. Amy Adams plays her naive, at times completely clueless character to perfection. She is the main reason why the above mentioned overlapping of humor with drama is so effective. Embeth Davidtz is equally impressive as the modern, successful but looking completely lost in North Carolina professional. Celia Weston, a native of South Carolina, is terrific. Her manners and accent are real. Alessandro Nivola, Benjamin McKenzie and Scott Wilson’s contribution is also invaluable.

Director Phil Morrison and cinematographer Peter Donahue have lensed unforgettable images. Joe Klotz’s editing is also top-notch. New Jersey veterans Yo La Tengo’s music is a real treat. Their unusually moody and minimalistic tunes blend exceptionally well with the film’s idiosyncratic narrative. Excerpts from classical works by Haydn, Vivaldi, Schubert and Shostakovich also compliment Junebug.

Junebug Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Phil Morrison's Junebug arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based Eureka Entertainment.

This is an excellent transfer! Eureka have delivered an unfiltered and unmanipulated transfer that retains the intended by director Morrison's occasionally soft and washed-out look of the film (Junebug was shot in 16mm). Furthermore, there is plenty of healthy grain that looks excellent when Junebug is projected on a large screen. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are most definitely not an issue of concern. On the contrary, the Eureka Entertainment transfer looks notably healthy and stable. For the record, I did not detect any digital sharpening either. This being said, I would like to make it very clear that Junebug has plenty of depth and detail that I don't see on the DVD release of the film, which I now have with me. Yes, there is a notable gap in quality between the Blu-ray transfer and the DVD transfer. To sum it all up, the folks at Eureka Entertainment have once again done a terrific job with a film I enjoyed tremendously. (Note: This is a Region-Free disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Junebug Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with other two tracks for the purpose of this review.

Simply put, the audio presentation is as solid as the video presentation. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is not overly active – you certainly won't hear a great deal of movement in your surround speakers – but it is incredibly well mixed. Those of you who are familiar with Yo La Tengo know that their music is incredibly subtle and atmospheric. As far as I am concerned, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track treats it notably well. This being said, the dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. Additionally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, clicks, or hissings to report in this review. My only complaint here is the lack of optional English subtitles. Other than that, the audio treatment is top notch.

The English Dolby Digital 2.0 track is not as convincing as the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Some of you may think that because Junebug isn't an overly active film, the two tracks are comparable. Simply put, they are not. Listen to the music score and you should be able to hear how notably stronger the dynamics are on the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is practically identical to the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Junebug Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary - two of the film's stars, Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz, deliver a terrific commentary with plenty of information about their characters, the film's production history, its quirky script, etc.

Deleted Scenes - a gallery of ten deleted scenes. Not subtitled in English. (22 min, 480/60i).

Behind The Scenes - five very short pieces - "Places and Faces", "Singing a Hymn", "Meerkats Gone Wild", "Ashley", and "All About Peg" - where cast members recall their work their involvement with Junebug. (480/60i).

Amy Adams Q&A - the star talks about her role and contribution to the film. The session was recorded in London, at the Soho Hotel, on March 12, 2006 especially for this release. (22 min, 480/60i).

Casting Sessions - two sessions, one with Amy Adams (14min) and one with Ben McKenzie (8 min). (480/60i).

Ann Wood - The character David Wark's paintings are the work of Ann Wood, a trained painter, who worked from the script and with the director to imagine how Wark might paint. Here, you could see a number of the artist's paintings. (480/60i)

Booklet - a 16-page booklet containing a "Q&A with director Phil Morrison and writer Angus MacLachlan. In addition, there are some interesting notes about the production of the film.

Junebug Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A terrific film and a terrific release by Eureka Entertainment! The Blu-ray transfer is very good - pure and unfiltered. Frankly, this is exactly what we want to see studios give us. Region-A cinephiles would also be delighted to know that Junebug is Region-Free. Of course, we Highly Recommend it.