6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The romantic and coming-of-age misadventures of a 13-year-old American living in Germany.
Starring: Craig Robinson, Carla Juri, Markees Christmas, Lina Keller, Jakub GierszalComing of age | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
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
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Being young, gifted and black takes on a whole new meaning, or at least context, with the engaging Morris from America, a film which resolutely defies certain strictures while broadly fitting into what might be termed a “coming of age” dramedy. Morris (Markees Christmas) is a sweet if occasionally surly 13 year old American kid who is attempting to matriculate into German culture with the help of his recently widowed father Curtis (Craig Robinson), who works in Germany as a soccer coach. The film rather cheekily introduces the pair’s locale, the picturesque city of Heidelberg, only after a prelude which is simply a father and son bantering with each other about rap music, in what many will assume is the good old United States of America. The fact that there are layers to this story is one of its most appealing features, and director and writer Chad Hartigan wisely chooses not to play the situation for traditional fish out of water laughs. This is instead a surprisingly heartfelt enterprise that finds a young boy in the throes of puberty attempting to come to terms with his own growing libido as well as his dreams of rap stardom, while also trying to navigate a foreign culture and all that that entails. While Morris from America may ultimately rely on genre conventions a bit too handily in its endgame, it manages to create a real bond between the audience and both the father and son at the core of the story, as well as creating a realistic bond for those two very characters. Some stodgy types may take umbrage with the language that’s thrown about by both Curtis and Morris, despite Curtis’ occasional warnings (along with those of Morris’ German tutor), not to mention some of Curtis' parenting decision. Some of the sexual situations on display may strike others as questionable, but it’s notable that the film ends up being rather innocent feeling, despite the prevalence of f bombs and simmering amorous behavior that occurs once Morris falls for a 15 year old German girl named Katrin (Lina Keller).
Morris from America is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb credits the Arri Alexa for this shoot, and this has a nicely detailed image in all of the brightly lit scenes, with some of the German locations offering great detail levels and nice depth of field. Hartigan and cinematographer Sean McElwee opt for extreme close-ups a lot of the time (several are shown in the screenshots accompanying this review), and fine detail levels in those are also excellent, even in some fairly dimly lit sequences. There are noticeable (and understandable) drops in detail levels in some of the heavily graded material, as in a party sequence (see screenshot 13) where drugs are being passed around. Aside from these moments, the palette looks fresh and natural. Black levels and contrast are also both consistent, and there are no issues with image instability or compression anomalies.
Morris from America's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix benefits immensely from its rap and EDM milieu, with Keegan DeWitt's music regularly thrusting through the surrounds with quite a bit of vigor. A couple of party scenes or otherwise crowded sequences also provide nice use of the side and rear channels to evoke a lifelike sonic ambience. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered and well prioritized (even in the noisy party scenes) on this problem free track.
Had Morris from America jettisoned a couple of needless subplots, this feature could have really totally hit it out of the ballpark for Hartigan. As it stands, it's a hugely commendable effort that has a few problems, but it offers fantastic performances by Christmas and Robinson, and it certainly is a rather heady mixture of ideas and characters. Technical merits are strong, and Morris from America comes Recommended.
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