6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
In a house haunted with memories, gangster and father Ulysses Pick, arriving home after a long absence, must journey through the house, room by room, to reach his wife Hyacinth in her bedroom upstairs.
Starring: Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, Udo Kier, Kevin McDonald, Tattiawna JonesDrama | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The work of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin is best described as polarizing, with audiences near and far torn between a profound appreciation for the helmer’s stylistics and tributes to moviemaking processes of old, and his dedication to abstract thought, rarely embarking on a picture that isn’t moderately impenetrable. He’s not an artist to be embraced, but observed, especially when Maddin launches into his own orbit, recalling the early years of David Lynch, aiming to alienate a large portion of his audience with oppressive layers of interpretational cinema, meant to challenge the cineaste more than satisfy the average matinee warrior. Through efforts like “The Saddest Music in the World” and “My Winnipeg,” Maddin has built a brand name with his dedication to surrealism and magical happenings, typically slathered with expressionistic images pulled straight from silent cinema. He’s an acquired taste, though with “Keyhole,” the impish prankster is beginning to repeat himself.
Maddin’s latest is a ghost story of atypical fright, diving deep into the psychological abyss to inspire a tale of a house with many rooms. Inside these rooms are visions of the past and the present colliding with tremendous extrasensory force, creating a purgatory of sorts for the director to play with, using visions and violence as Play-Doh to build a domicile of desperation. It’s an exhausting feature, richly made yet punishing and baffling in a manner that doesn’t invite further discussion. I suppose Maddin fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation wanders between troubling and ideal. There's a major problem with digital noise, with much of the cinematographic haze disrupted by banding issues, plaguing a majority of the presentation. Fine detail fares much better, with facial responses delivered clearly and effectively, displaying a wide range of skin imperfections and sweat-based reactions, while set design particulars are easily surveyed, keeping distances satisfactorily textured for ghostly observation. Only two moments of color are included in the picture, leaving a clean, balanced image highlighting bright whites and comfortably expressive blacks, with dense hairstyles and shadows kept in clear view. It's a strange viewing experience, moving from unsightly noise to welcome detail, leaving the BD event a little chaotic.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a dependable aural journey of sound effects and dialogue exchanges, though rarely does it elevate into a truly gripping sensorial experience. Surrounds are primarily reserved for atmospheric changes, with heavy rain and howling winds being a primary source of life to help envelope the listener into this troubled world. Scoring cues also wind around some, but less forcefully, keeping an appropriate distance from the verbal activity, which remains frontally pronounced with a firm grip on dramatic speeds and ghostly echo. Low-end is only moderately active, opening with a distinct rumble to pull the audience into the unsettling tone of the movie, only to trail off as the story unfolds, sporadically coming to life. Atmospherics are acceptable, offering distinct sounds of clanging chains and creaky house interiors.
Puzzlers and those slavish to the demands of analysis will likely find themselves overjoyed with the clues of "Keyhole." It's certainly a thoughtfully photographed motion picture, stacked with tchotchkes and shadowplay that possess deeper meaning, while nursing a moist sense of chaos with torrential rains and wet performers, adding to the noir mood. The ingredients are there for Maddin to bake a specialized effort of esoteric exploration, to take the house-of-a-thousand-secrets concept to a propulsive place of confrontation and revelation. Instead, "Keyhole" likes to linger on its achievements, placing the burden of comprehension on an audience not handed enough characterization and motivation to make the necessary educated guesses. Much like Maddin's previous work, "Keyhole" is beautiful but soulless, reserved for more daring, patient viewers able to compute ambiguity from a filmmaker who's made carrot dangling a fine art.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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