Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Palmetto Blu-ray Movie Review

"Florida Man."

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 11, 2023

Volker Schlöndorff's Palmetto, now celebrating its 25th anniversary with a long-overdue Blu-ray edition from Warner Archive, is a sweaty southern neo-noir that barely registered with theater-goers back in 1998. Saddled with a death-sentence February release date that year, it features a memorable atmosphere, solid performances, and not one but two femme fatales, all of which outshine its fairly questionable and patchy script. Try as it might, Palmetto would be replaced almost immediately in the public consciousness by Wild Things just a few short months later, but is now ripe for rediscovery thanks to the boutique label's occasional willingness to release films made after the 1950s.

Our hapless protagonist is former reporter Harry Barber (Woody Harrelson), fresh from a two-year stint in prison after being framed for a political corruption scandal. Though grateful for the commuted sentence, he's still angry about what landed him there and thus reluctant to return to his hometown of Palmetto, Florida. As luck would have it, Harry's sexy girlfriend Nina (Gina Gershon) is waiting for him outside the prison gate and seduces Harry back home, and it won't be the last time his libido gets him in trouble. Finding work proves difficult so, for the time being, he shacks up with Nina in her art studio and hangs out at a local bar despite staying adamantly sober. It's here where Harry meets gorgeous Rhea Malroux (Elisabeth Shue), wife of wealthy Felix (Rolf Hoppe) and stepmom to teenage Odette (Chloë Sevigny); after kinda returning Rhea's lost purse, they meet up later where she fills him in on a job offer. Also, boobs.

In short, Rhea plans to have Odette "kidnapped" for a $500,000 ransom; she's in on it too, and Harry will be tasked with brokering the deal and gets 10% for himself. Skeptical of both the mother and daughter, he secretly records them during separate meetings but has trouble maintaining composure with their aggressively alluring nature. After Odette flees town and Harry's ransom note is delivered, the story is leaked to local authorities and his detective brother-in-law John Renick (Tom Wright), taking pity on Harry's wrongfully ruined reputation, offers him a position as press liaison on the case. Harry's a reasonably smart man but woefully unequipped to navigate both sides, especially after a few twists and turns make his already precipitous situation even worse. Without question, this man's in over his head.

There are parts of Palmetto I love, and the long-gestating rep as "forgotten 90s neo-noir" works in its favor. The story is appropriately twisted but clearly overstuffed, with an intoxicating atmosphere that stokes Harry's increasingly grim future. Gina Gershon, Elizabeth Shue, and Chloë Sevigny all work overtime with the vamping, although the former is stuck in a thankless role. This leads to my main complaint: it's no fault of Woody Harrelson's performance, but Harry Barber is is basically set up to fail in the sympathy department. His former life as a noble reporter seems questionable based on Harry's post-prison behavior, where his ruthless treatment of Nina (which later builds to an almost laughably unbelievable interaction after a body is discovered), theft, and other actions don't make him an easy character to get behind. Not all noir fall guys need to be on the straight and narrow... but almost no one's likeable in Palmetto, which kept me from becoming immersed in a story that feels unquestionably more "guilty" than "pleasure". A tighter script, fewer characters, and less of a reliance on twists and turns would have yielded stronger results for sure.

Upon its release, Palmetto was (mostly unfavorably) compared to Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 debut film Body Heat, which it doesn't borrow entire elements of its story from yet certainly resembles in tone. But there's a scene after the halfway mark lifted wholesale from Fritz Lang's 1944 proto-noir The Woman in the Window, where our hapless main character visits a crime scene with police and jokingly hints at his own guilt multiple times. Palmetto falls well below both earlier noirs and countless others, but it's at least a mostly fun and frivolous outing that, if nothing else, kept the neo-noir fire burning. Warner Archive attempts to resurrect it on Blu-ray a full quarter-century later and, despite a lack of extras, the sterling A/V presentation will absolutely thrill anyone looking to retire their 1998 snapper-case DVD.

Palmetto Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released in the early days of DVD, it's not surprising that Palmetto never earned a second life on Blu-ray; I could've maybe seen this as part of a neo-noir multi-disc collection, but not a stand-alone release. That makes its 1080p debut from Warner Archive all the more fortunate, and I'd imagine that stalwart fans have had this on pre-order for months. Regardless, its relatively young age -- at least by Archive standards -- means that it probably didn't need a fresh new 4K scan of the original camera negative with extensive manual cleanup, although its transfer is simply advertised as being sourced from "a new master" and that's it. Whatever the source material, this solid-looking disc showcases the film's understated cinematography, boasting strong image detail that pinpoints almost every bead of sweat on close-ups and medium shots alike. Color reproduction and black levels are superb, film grain is slight but present, and as a whole this is just a consistently solid presentation that's cleanly and capably encoded on a dual-layer disc.

Palmetto Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The same holds true for Palmetto's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, which features clean, crisp dialogue and well-mixed background effects that rarely fight for attention. Since Palmetto is extremely light on action, the only noticeable rear-channel atmospherics other than general room/location ambiance arrive in the form of Klaus Doldinger's jazzy original score, which enjoys a rich and dynamic presence bolstered by a potent mid-range. This obviously isn't a demo-worthy track by any means, but it certainly gets the job done and outperforms the DVD's lossy surround mix.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only.

Palmetto Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with original poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. Sadly aside from the original trailer, no bonus features have been included -- not surprising, but disappointing nonetheless.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:06) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Palmetto Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Volker Schlöndorff's southern neo-noir Palmetto didn't exactly light the box office on fire in 1998, although it's enjoyed a steadily increasing cult following in the 25 years since. I can't count myself among those who herald it as some sort of undiscovered masterpiece, but this one certainly has a few charms including a potent atmosphere and several solid performances at its core. Warner Archive brings it to Blu-ray in this belated but welcome release, a basically movie-only disc led by the boutique label's consistently great A/V touch. It's obviously recommended to die-hard fans looking to retire their DVDs, but may not be the best blind buy unless you're extremely intrigued by the cast or genre.