7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Travis, a psychiatrist suffering from personal trauma, stumbles across a group run by a charismatic former soldier named Jay. In search of answers, Travis is led deeper into Jay's world, where he gets to know Grace, a mysterious teenage girl, and Marcus, a recovering drug addict. Eventually, Travis must confront both his own demons and those hidden within the group.
Starring: Mark Leonard Winter, Steve Le Marquand, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Sara West (I), Craig BehennaThriller | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One Eyed Girl is an independently produced Australian psychological thriller where it's often
hard to tell who's the hero and who's the villain. Arguably they're the same character. The
question that remains open until the very end (and maybe even then) is whether he can ever pull
himself out of the downward spiral to which his life seems condemned, for reasons that are
continuously redefined throughout the film. The writer/director, Nick Matthews, and his co-writer, Craig Behenna, who co-stars, wrote numerous
drafts, and producer/editor David Ngo
struggled in the editing room, to achieve the right balance between external action and internal
reflection so that the audience has the opportunity to experience a troubled mind in a state of
constant flux. It's a unique and original achievement.
The creative team notes in the Blu-ray extras that they banned certain terms during production
(although they laughingly admit that those same terms are impossible to avoid when discussing
the film). One such term was "flashback", since the main character of One Eyed Girl is
constantly recalling past events, but these recollections are not included for the usual purpose of
flashbacks in film, which is to fill in background information. They are there to show the
powerful influence of memory on the present, as it erupts into daily life, irresistibly distracting us
with fragments of the past (or what we feel about the past). Another prohibited term was "cult",
because the group with which the main character becomes involved cannot be so easily
pigeonholed. It lacks the formal structure and the economic incentive of a typical "cult", as well
as any mission statement for the outside world. At least on the surface, it's nothing more than a
group of drug addicts for whom conventional treatment has failed and who are trying a last,
desperate alternative to kick their habits.
One Eyed Girl premiered in October 2014 at the Austin Film Festival, where it won the Dark
Matters Feature Film Award. An Australian theatrical release followed in April 2015, where
David Ngo was nominated for an Australian Screen Editors Award. In the U.S., the film is being
released by MPI's Dark Sky Films. I strongly recommend it, with the disclaimer that not
everyone will like it. More than most, the film serves as a Rorschach test for the viewer. What
you see in it will reflect yourself.
One Eyed Girl was shot by cinematographer Jody Muston primarily on the Arri Alexa, with
numerous pickup shots captured on a handheld Blackmagic 2k unit operated by director
Matthews. After extensive color correction in post-production, the interweaving of these two
sources appears to be seamless. Dark Sky's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably
sourced directly from digital files.
The Blu-ray image retains the organic, film-like quality for which the Alexa is noted while
remaining sharp, clear and detailed. It should be noted, however, that both Muston's lighting and
choices made in post sometimes deliberately soften detail for the sake of atmosphere. In the
film's first act, when Travis is still working as a psychiatrist, the lighting is frequently harsh, the
contrast stark and the palette cold, as Travis finds his surroundings increasingly difficult to
tolerate. The memory fragments that intrude on his consciousness are much more warmly
colored, but they are also dimly lit and often indistinct, to convey the unreliability of memory.
The exterior palette gradually warms, and the surroundings become clearer and more focused, as
Travis becomes acclimated to country life on Jay's farm. The interplay of color, light and shadow
shifts radically in the film's final act, in ways that cannot be further described without major
spoilers.
MPI and Dark Sky have placed the 103-minute film on a BD-25, achieving an average bitrate of
19.99 Mbps. Though somewhat on the low side, the average bitrate is attributable to the
material's digital origination and a significant number of relatively static shots that have allowed
bits to be conserved for several sequences of intense, rapid action.
One Eyed Girl's 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, does not provide
opportunities for the kind of showy surround effects of an action film, but it still takes advantage
of the multi-channel format to provide an immersive sense of environment that shifts with the
action and the characters, especially during scenes in the country. An extended bonfire sequence,
where two characters begin a conversation near the fire and then move away from it, is an
especially good example. The transitions between Travis' interior thoughts and his external
actions are smoothly managed so that the sound cues help distinguish the two states but the
transitions are not jarring or abrupt. The sounds of city life (traffic, building HVAC systems, etc.)
contrast sharply with those of the country (such as wind, insects and trees). Several sequences
involving train travel are appropriately loud when necessary. The track's dynamic range is broad
with deep bass extension.
The dialogue is clearly rendered, although some of the regional accents are thicker than others.
English SDH subtitles are available if needed. The score by Michael Darren (his first feature
film) is a subtly mournful affair that integrates smoothly with the film's sound mix.
As is routinely the case with Blu-rays released by labels affiliated with MPI, an alternate PCM
2.0 track is also included.
One Eyed Girl is the kind of film that could only be made and released independently. It does not
fit neatly into a genre "box", is difficult to describe in conventional terms and would be a
challenge to promote for wide release. It will have to find its audience on home video.
Fortunately Dark Sky has provided a good Blu-ray treatment, because the film deserves to be
discovered. Highly recommended.
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