Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 19, 2014

Winner of BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, Kieran Evans' "Kelly + Victor" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; filmed Q&A session with the Welsh director; and a short film. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The beginning

They meet in a busy nightclub somewhere in the heart of Liverpool. Victor (Julian Morris, Cry Wolf, Valkyrie) is there celebrating his birthday with a group of friends. Kelly (Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Bright Star, Albert Nobbs) is alone, trying to move on after a difficult relationship. They dance and kiss. Then they walk to Kelly’s place and make love. On the morning after, Kelly gives Victor her phone number and he promises to call her. But before they part ways both are convinced that they will never see each other again.

Immediately after Victor leaves Kelly’s place, however, they realize that what they experienced the night before was special. Initially they both conclude that only the intense sex was responsible for their special experience, but the more they think about it, the more they begin to realize that there was a real connection between them, the type that can exist only between two people that were meant to be together.

Soon after, Kelly and Victor are invited to join good friends who promise to show them how to make easy money. Kelly meets Victoria (Claire Keelan, Mister John), a dominatrix prostitute, who takes her to the lavish mansion of a wealthy client. Victor joins Gaz (Stephen Walters, Layer Cake) and Craig (William Ruane, The Angels' Share), who are on their way to meet a well-connected drug dealer.

The film takes a very unusual turn after Victor and Kelly meet again and make love for a second time. The experience is so intense that it seriously scares Victor.

Based on Niall Griffiths’ acclaimed novel, Welsh director Kieran Evans’ first feature film, Kelly + Victor, falls somewhere between Andrzej Zulwaski’s Szamanka and Fatih Akin’s Head-On. It chronicles a very unusual romantic relationship which slowly begins to disintegrate after the two lovers become comfortable with each other. As it is the case with Zulwaski and Akin’s films, the intensity level is then gradually raised so high that at one point it almost feels like Kelly + Victor is secretly trying to test the viewer’s tolerance for human suffering.

It is important to clarify, however, that the film remains firmly grounded in reality. Indeed, Victor and Kelly’s relationship is unusual, but not unfeasible. In fact, there is an obvious social element attached to it that explains its existence. For different reasons, which are gradually revealed as the film progresses, Kelly and Victor live their lives on autopilot – they meet other people and act as they should but they don’t have any ambitions or goals. It all changes after they connect and suddenly discover that life could be meaningful and exciting. It is while trying to consume as much of the excitement as possible that things go terribly wrong.

The cast is superb. In fact, Campbell-Hughes and Morris’ chemistry in front of the camera is so impressive that it is hard to believe that Kelly + Victor isn’t mentioned as often as Abdellatif Kechiche’s award-winning Blue Is the Warmest Colour.

The film is also beautifully shot by cinematographer Piers McGrail. The manner in which light and shadow are used to enhance the moody atmosphere is particularly impressive.

Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Kieran Evans' Kelly + Victor arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures.

Similar to A Belfast Story, Kelly + Victor arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080/50i high-definition transfer which actually contains progressive frames. This means that there is absolutely no motion-judder whatsoever. To be clear, this is essentially a progressive transfer "locked" inside a 1080/50i encode.

Shot digitally, the film has the appropriate clean and very smooth look. The overwhelming majority of the close-ups look remarkably crisp (see screencapture #5), while the wider shots boast outstanding depth (even the nighttime footage from Liverpool impresses with terrific depth). Colors are exceptionally rich, stable, and always very natural. There are no purely transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. Indeed, the encoding and compression are excellent. Finally, there is no edge flicker or other visible stability issues. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Verve Pictures have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and was very pleased with it, but a quick comparison reveals that in terms of dynamic intensity there isn't a notable gap between the two lossless tracks. Additionally, you should not expect to hear any significant movement in the surround channels on the 5.1 track. There are different random sounds and noises that are slightly easier to identify with the 5.1 track, but the difference is indeed very small. The dialog is equally crisp, stable, and easy to follow. For the record, there are no audio dropouts, pops, or other serious anomalies to report in this review.

Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Kelly + Victor. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Q&A with Kieran Evans - in this filmed Q&A session, Kieran Evans explains why he decided to adapt Niall Griffiths' novel, and discusses his interaction with the film's stars, Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Julian Morris, how some of the more explicit footage was shot, the film's documentary look, etc. The session was filmed at Triskel Christchurch Cork, Ireland, on October 8, 2013. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• The Forgivness Project - The Forgiveness Project is a UK based charity that uses storytelling to explore how ideas around forgiveness, reconciliation, and conflict resolution can be used to impact positively on people's lives, through the personal testimonies of both victims and perpetrators of crime and violence. The purpose of the charity is to provide tools that facilitate conflict resolution and promote behavioral change. Central to the work of the people behind this project is the commitment to work with ex-offenders and victims of crime as a way of modeling a restorative process. Included here is a short film promoting these ideas. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

Kelly + Victor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Welsh director Kieran Evans' first feature film, Kelly + Victor, is as brilliantly acted and lensed as Abdellatif Kechiche's award-winning Blue Is the Warmest Color. Admittedly, Evans' film is a lot darker and far more intense, but it is as pure and direct as Kechiche's film. I liked it a lot and would like to recommend it to those of you who appreciate bold and unconventional love stories. Verve Pictures' technical presentation of Kelly + Victor is excellent. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.