Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Maps to the Stars Blu-ray Movie Review

Doesn't take the straight and narrow path.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 16, 2015

Add another one to the "oddities but goodies" list. Maps to the Stars, the latest from Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), looks at dysfunctional Hollywood from two perspectives: the older has-been living in her mother's shadow and the young teenager whose life slowly succumbs to the pressures of ultra fame and huge fortune. The picture offers a mildly comical but largely sobering look at the cost of fame and the obsession of stardom. Mix that together with some strange bits of happenstance and the picture tells a largely unbelievable, but weirdly plausible, tale of interconnectivity and the personal falls from unimaginable heights. The movie does boil down to that very simple but, in the film, intimately complex notion of crumbling façades and broken spirits as experienced by two disparately aged but otherwise indistinguishable figures haunted by past pains and driven to maintain their success at any price. The movie lacks substantial, life-changing commentary and casts a light on figures too far removed from the full understanding of even the most cinema-savvy audiences, but it's still an interesting, albeit (probably) exaggerated snapshot of the toll Hollywood can take on those unprepared to ride its ebbs and flows without too much in the way of personal upheaval.

Not as cool and collected as they seem.

Agatha Weiss (Mia Wasikowska) arrives in Hollywood looking to reconnect with her family: brother Benjie (Evan Bird), father Stafford (John Cusack), and mother Christina (Olivia Williams). Benjie is a major Hollywood star, the face of a hit franchise called Bad Babysitters. He's become absurdly wealthy at a young age, and he and his parents are reaping the rewards while hiding a dirty little secret from the public. Agatha, who is Twitter friends with Carrie Fisher (herself), lands a job as an assistant to Fisher's friend, a fading actress named Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore). Havana lives deeply and darkly in her deceased mother's shadow, herself once an actress with an Academy Award nomination to her name. Havana desperately wants to be cast in the same role for which her mother earned the Oscar nod in the upcoming remake, but she's meeting heavy resistance. As they all attempt to sort out their lives, various personal crises arise that challenge them even more deeply than they could ever imagine.

Maps to to the Stars is a character piece through-and-through. It's not particularly flashy or remarkable in its technical construction. Cronenberg smartly leaves the movie in the hands of his accomplished performers to sort out the intricacies of the characters, most all of whom are in some way flawed -- some externally, most internally -- and in need of repair beyond anything their bubble of insecurity and selfish wants can provide. The only (mostly) evenly-keeled character in the film, it seems, is Robert Pattinson's Jerome, a young man who works an honest job, isn't too hung up on his dreams of fame and fortune as a writer/actor, and is happy to take whatever bit part he can find. He's also capable of looking beyond hurts and doing what he can to heal at least the most immediately obvious and open wounds, even if he's sometimes egged on to do so. Maybe it's that he hasn't gotten close enough yet -- he's only ever around the periphery, on the outside looking in -- but he's a welcome, refreshing escape from the damaged goods that otherwise litter the movie. Indeed, the rest of the primaries are essentially products of deeply destroyed essences that have been torn away by circumstances both within their control and out of their control, whether Havana hopelessly living in a shadow, Benjie pushing and shoving his way out from one, Mr. and Mrs. Weiss living vicariously through their son and ever-protecting him (more themselves, though) from their secret, and Agatha bearing the physical scars of her hurts, looking for redemption, and finding herself only caught up in the darkness that surrounds her. It's a fascinating, if not morbidly so, bunch of characters who are smartly written and, generally, strongly performed.

Cronenberg's all-star cast aggressively explores and exposes the weaknesses and vulnerabilities with a passion for the material and a tangibly lifelike veneer of the clashing worlds of deep pain and outward satisfaction. The ever-impressive Julianne Moore is again in top form as the haunted Havana, haunted not in the literal sense (insofar as the audience is led to believe) but instead in her very soul, in the shadow of her mother, past pains, and her own wants and expectations weighing her down and slowly picking her apart from the inside out. Moore captures the deep vulnerability but, for her, necessary outward confidence that itself comes slowly crashing down as the film progresses towards its endgame. Evan Bird may not possess the same raw acting chops as Moore, but he delivers a suitably complex performance as a young man in search of himself in a world that doesn't allow him to find out who he is, the world instead surrounding him with fame and fortune and all of the "perks" that come with it to the point of suffocation and a slow degradation of inner and outer stability. Mia Wasikowska is stellar as the physically wounded but awkward and mostly well meaning Agatha who becomes slowly devoured by the world around her. John Cusack, Olivia Williams, and Robert Pattinson all impress in the film's critical secondary parts.

Maps to the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Maps to the Stars features a no-frills 1080p transfer. It's baseline effective, rarely offering anything amounting to a major hiccup, but it's also a thin, unremarkable image that lacks substantial subtlety. Details are fine, a hint soft but largely impressive in terms of delivering raw, accurate facial lines, freckles, clothing textures, and broad image clarity. Colors are satisfactory but don't showcase as particularly robust or attractive. Base reds, blues, and yellows nudge towards dullness but generally stay true and pleasant. Black levels aren't problematic and flesh tones appear even. Minor banding creeps in across a few spots but isn't generally intrusive. The image doesn't struggle with regular noise or show any other assorted maladies.

Maps to the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Maps to the Stars features a fairly basic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's no challenge for even modest sound systems but still offers a pleasing, nuanced listen. Music is generally light and agreeable with gentle surround flow, even front side spacing, solid instrumental clarity, and positive attention to detail. The track picks up some nice little bits of support effects, such as lightly ringing wind chimes and the background din of a party where chatter and music are considerably reduced to emphasize dialogue. A couple of slightly heavier effects crop up on occasion, notably a gunshot later in the film and some thuds at the end, neither of which are strikingly detailed or robust but at least get the point across. This is predominantly a dialogue intensive film; the spoken word flows clearly and efficiently from the center with constant intelligibility and perfect prioritization.

Maps to the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Maps to the Stars contains no supplemental content. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy of the film.

Maps to the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maps to the Stars isn't meant for mainstream consumption. It's not that it's too smart, too complex, too off-the-wall, or too emotionally or physically grotesque, it's that it's not particularly relatable to main street. It's a hardcore movie fan's movie, perfect for someone in search of a darkly quirky, oddly mesmerizing, and oftentimes repulsive look at lives in the death spirals of fame and fortune. It's the antithesis of the typical "glamorous Hollywood" façade and, for films fans, an interesting, albeit (supposedly) fictional account of what happens behind the camera. Universal's Blu-ray release of Maps to the Stars is disappointingly absent any supplemental content. Video and audio presentations suffice. Recommended to the right audiences.