6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Dumped by her boyfriend just three weeks before their wedding, Lola enlists her close friends for a series of adventures she hopes will help her come to terms with approaching 30 as a single woman.
Starring: Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Hamish Linklater, Bill PullmanDrama | 100% |
Comedy | 59% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
I see what Lola Versus is trying to do. It wants to be the sharp/hip/smart alternative to slick Hollywood rom-com dross. It wants to be a new
take on old school Woody Allen. It wants to be real and uncompromising and true to the fractured love lives of Generation Y. And it wants to be funny
in a flippant, post-modern way while still bleeding with I know how you feel, girl sentiment. Unfortunately, it does none of these things
particularly well, and most of them very poorly. If I had to pin a comparison on Lola Versus, I'd say it plays like an especially awful hour-and-a-
half-long episode of the HBO series Girls, all New York boho frippery but with none of the insight or honesty about Millennial self-obsession.
The movie is the work of director Daryl Wein and his co-writer/partner, Zoe Lister Jones, who also plays the "kooky friend" role that's now a rom-com
staple. The real star is Greta Gerwig, the blonde erstwhile indie darling who got her start in Joe Swanberg's micro-budget mumblecore films and has
slowly been ingratiating herself into more mainstream fare, including Woody Allen's To Rome with Love and the Russell Brand misfire
Arthur. She'll survive Lola Versus—and I have no doubt she has many great roles ahead of her—but I doubt her turn in the film will
do her career any favors.
Lola Versus is wedded to Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's true to source and free of compression problems, authoring issues, and digital tinkering. Shot on Super 35, the film has a readily visible grain structure—which is sometimes patchy/chunky in darker scenes, but never to the level of distraction—and the picture here is untouched by DNR or edge enhancement. You immediately get the sense that you're seeing the film as it was meant to be seen. Considering Lola Versus is a fairly low-budget rom-com, though, you shouldn't expect high definition eye candy. While there's still an appreciable amount of detail where it counts—closeups, facial features, clothing textures, etc.—the spherical lensing yields an image that's not quite as sharp as most anamorphically-shot films. Also, the occasional thickness of the grain inherently softens what would otherwise be crisp lines. Color is handled well here, however; the film's palette is a slightly pushed version of "realistic," with generally rich grading and good contrast. Skin tones are balanced throughout, and black levels as deep as they need to be. No real concerns here.
Expect the usual rom-rom sound mix from Lola Versus' lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. At the core is the alternately snarky and mopey dialogue, which is always cleanly recorded and easy to understand. Add to that a modicum of environmental ambience from the rear channels—New York street sounds, windy ocean atmosphere, the spray from a showerhead, nightclub noise, etc. Then tie it all together with a zippy, borderline too-cute score from Brooklyn-based "film and multimedia composers" Fall On Your Sword, who recently did the emotive music for Another Earth. For variety, throw in a couple of safe indie tunes and one cringe-worthy Ani DiFranco number. It's not going to test your home theater system, but the mix is clear and robust enough for the genre. For those who might need or want them, the disc also includes French and Spanish 5.1 dubs and optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Yes, Lola Versus is "not your mother's rom-com"—it's cruder, self-obsessed, and given to winky bouts of irony—but the question is, is it your rom-com? Beyond the ticking biological clock cliches and urban lonely girl stereotypes, I'm not sure many women will see themselves in the sad-sack Lola or her bohemian acquaintances. The movie just feels false, and Greta Gerwig's ho-humming performance ain't about to save it. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release does the film justice—good sound and audio, a few value-extending special features to tempt you away from streaming/download options—but this is a rental at best.
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