7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young gay teen takes a novel approach to coming out to his classmates.
Starring: Nick Robinson, Keiynan Lonsdale, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Miles HeizerTeen | 100% |
Comedy | 97% |
Romance | 93% |
Coming of age | 59% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
High school can be an emotional minefield even under the best of circumstances, but kids with additional “baggage” of one sort or another can often find the three or four years they spend in such facilities unbearable at times. One of the interesting things about Love, Simon is that Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) isn’t the social outcast that “different” teenagers often become in high school. In fact, Simon is surrounded not just by a loving family, but also by a retinue of friends who all seem to enjoy him immensely. But there’s always a disconnect between outer reality and inner emotional states even for those who consider themselves “normal” (whatever that means nowadays), and Simon most definitely does not consider himself normal, since he’s harboring the supposedly devastating secret that he’s gay. That “supposedly” is especially salient in the film since even Simon seems to realize that in today’s culture and even more so with regard to the context which Simon finds himself in (namely, those aforementioned loving parents and strong friendships) no one would probably care that much if he just “outed” himself. Why Simon takes a while to get to where this film is obviously going is perhaps not sufficiently explained, but otherwise Love, Simon, while essaying much of the same “teen angst” territory as any number of other at least passingly similar films, has a rather unique perspective on the travails that can confront teens on the cusp of adulthood. There may be a somewhat curious connection for some who have seen the currently running Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen (by Pasek and Paul of The Greatest Showman and La La Land fame) in that emails, including "leaked" emails, play an important part in the story revolving around high school kids trying to come to terms with their own social anxieties, but the only singing and dancing in this film comes courtesy of an arguably needless subplot involving the drama department's production of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret, a show which perhaps not so coincidentally tends to at least hint at some sexual "oddities" and even gender confusion.
Note: Screenshots were sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.
Love, Simon is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. As I mentioned in
our Love, Simon Blu-ray review, this is another release where
the IMDb kind of oddly omits whether this digitally captured feature was finished at a 2K or a 4K DI (I suspect the former, but would love it if someone
could point me to an authoritative source, something I personally haven't been able to find). I was frankly rather pleasantly surprised with how
Love, Simon looks in its 4K version, since the film isn't exactly awash in "wow" visuals, something I kind of alluded to in the review of the
1080p Blu-ray version. But there are all of the typical upticks in fine detail that 4K fans like to see, including increased resolution on things like facial
features or the bricks in the bathroom stall where Simon finds refuge on a couple of occasions. But to my eyes some of the most appealing differences
come courtesy of HDR, with a whole range of interesting new highlights on display. This can be "little" things like how the track at the high school now
has more of a rust color, or an increased warmth of the sort of yellow-orange grading that several of Simon's home sequences have. Several of the
scenes of Cabaret either in rehearsal or performance have a warmer red tone now. There are both red and orange lighting schemes and/or
grading on display in a later party scene, which also looked warmer to me in this version. The single most astounding upgrade in overall palette for me
personally was the whimsical fantasy sequence where Simon and a group of kids frolic to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". The
saturation of the outfits the kids wear is really remarkable in this 4K version, with some incredibly vivid primaries especially notable.
Love, Simon is awash in source cues, and the musical elements tend to really buoy the disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in a way that the
more intimate dialogue scenes can't. That said, there's consistent immersion here in many of the high school set scenes, where the cacophony of kids
in the halls or even the travails of the Cabaret production offer good engagement of the surround channels. Dialogue is always prioritized
smartly, and fidelity is fine throughout the audio presentation, with no problems of any kind to report.
Note: As tends to be the case with Fox releases spread across 1080p Blu-ray and 4K UHD formats, the audio and subtitle specs are different
on the different discs. The specs above are for the 4K UHD disc. Please consult our Love, Simon Blu-ray review for the specs on that disc.
Only the Commentary track is included on the 4K UHD disc. For a list of supplements included on the 1080p Blu-ray that's part of this package, please see our Love, Simon Blu-ray review.
Love, Simon overcomes some of its own perhaps self inflicted deficits by offering really sincere performances and a rather breezy attitude toward inherently weighty subjects that may come off as a little sanguine at times, but which seems to provide assurance that it will indeed get better. I was actually rather pleasantly surprised with the uptick in detail and especially palette highlights on this 4K UHD version. Recommended.
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