Passion Play Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		1.5

Passion Play Blu-ray Movie Review

Plays passionlessly.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater May 30, 2011

Hobgoblin-faced comeback king Mickey Rourke made headlines last month when he told a reporter for Vulture that his new film, Passion Play, was “Terrible. Another terrible movie.” Less than a week later, he issued an apology, claiming he was in “a s----y mood,” and “I don’t know why I said that s--t.” But the story doesn’t end there! Earlier this month, Rourke reiterated his original thoughts about the film, telling a New York Observer writer, “It’s terrible…I don’t know if I’d even want to watch a slideshow of that.” Harsh words. While we can only speculate on the train of thought that would lead the former pugilist to decry the film, defend it, and then claim that it wouldn’t even be palatable in PowerPoint form, Rourke’s final conclusion is right. Passion Play is indeed awful, so much so that its horribleness is almost transfixing. Almost. The film is too straight- faced and sad sack-ish to fall into the “so bad it’s good” camp, but it does leave you with a sense of bewildered awe. How did this film get the green light? Was there no one on set to tell writer/director Mitch Glazer he might want to rethink some—nay, all—of his creative choices? Who thought this mishmash of soppy sentiment and not-so-magical realism was a good idea?

Take HBO’s Carnivale, an alcohol-soaked Bukowski novel, and Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire—wait, scratch that, and substitute City of Angels, the dippy American remake—throw them all into an industrial blender, strain out any compelling or intellectually honest elements, dilute with cinematic blandness, and you’re left with wet, tepid, storytelling sludge. That sludge is Passion Play. I only wish I was exaggerating. Mickey Rourke plays Nate Poole, a down-and-out jazz trumpeter who used to have a real career but now toots his horn sadly in the house band of a dingy Albuquerque strip club. Hard livin’ finally catches up with him when he unknowingly sleeps with the wife of a local mob boss named Happy (Bill Murray), a distinctly unhappy guy who sends a lackey to kidnap Nate, drag him out into the Mexican desert, and shoot him execution style. Before he can put a hole through Nate’s brain, a volley of bullets takes out the thug and our meat-faced hero is spared. His rescuers? I kid you not, a cadre of dressed-in-white Native Americans, who sneak through the frame, stop briefly to see if Nate is alright, and then slip off, never to be seen again. It gets weirder. Looking for a payphone, Nate stumbles across a carnival in the middle of nowhere, where he meets Lily (Megan Fox), a sideshow “bird-woman” who—get this—has actual, honest-to-goodness wings. Although this might call to mind a short story by magical realist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the film’s superficiality seems to suggest that Mitch Glazer was more likely inspired to make Passion Play after seeing commercials for Victoria Secret’s “Angels” collection.

And yes, there is a goofy, wing-enshrouded sex scene between Nate and Lily, so if you’ve ever desired to see feathers stroked and groped, here’s your chance. I suppose the sequence does have the potential to be mildly sexy, providing you have an incurable goose down fetish. The two run off together after the carnival’s possessive ringmaster (Rhys Ifans) tries to have Nate killed—this guy just can’t catch a break, can he?—and their intimacy springs out of a realization that they’re both cultural outsiders who…yadda, yadda, yadda. The down and dirty of their relationship is this: Nate has genuine feelings for Lily, but he also sees her as his ticket out of trouble with Happy. He’s got a grand scheme to “manage” the winged beauty—that is, put her back in a glass box, to be gawked at by the curious—and, to appease Happy, cut him in on the potential profits. Of course, this goes horribly wrong, in ways I’ll leave unspoiled for the two of you who might actually watch this mess. Let’s just say that, as the title implies, Rourke’s character undergoes a Christ-like progression through suffering and redemption, albeit shabbily, with no subtlety whatsoever. The fact is, there’s nothing about Passion Play that works. It wants to be arty and surreal, but at best it’s pretty to look at yet completely inert. Famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Chungking Express) is responsible for the film’s occasionally lush look, but even here there are bad choices, like the decision to film certain scenes in front of green screen. You get the sense that this was intended to invoke a certain dreaminess, but it just looks cheap. And the less I say about Lily’s attempts to fly—all too obviously strapped in to a wire harness—the better.

This is hokum of the highest order, a film that pretends to be soulful and profound but is ultimately empty and overindulgent. Worse, it’s slow, pointless, tottering from scene to scene like a drunk jazzman unsure of his destination, or even his whereabouts. If Passion Play doesn’t sweep next year’s Razzie Awards, I’ll be seriously surprised. I don’t know how any of the cast members thought this film was a good idea. Bill Murray, of course, has been known to slum for a paycheck—see the two Garfield films—but this is something of a new low. Still, he’s one of the few actors who can phone it in—like he does here, with dry, lazy line readings—and still seem completely charming. On the other side, you have the odd-ball pairing of Rourke and Fox, who both over-emote uncontrollably. Fox’s entire performance consists of pouts and faraway looks, her eyes welling up with tears. Like her character, Fox seems to be here just to be leered at, but the similitude does nothing to help the picture. If she’s trying to convince us that she’s a genuine actress, Passion Play and Transformers aren’t going to cut it. And poor Rourke—who can act, but has crummy material to work with here—is going to need a second big comeback after this role. I can’t say I blame him for smack-talking the film.

Passion Play Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If Passion Play has one thing going for it besides Bill Murray's benign presence, it's the film's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Shot on 35mm—and framed close to its native 2.39:1 aspect ratio—the movie retains its natural filmic look on Blu-ray, with no adverse noise reduction, edge enhancement, or any other attempts to boost the image. Grain is fine and unobtrusive for most of the film, but there are some darker sequences where both analog and digital/compression noise spikes somewhat. This is made more noticeable by the fact that black levels during these scenes tend to hover around a deep gray instead of looking truly inky. This is hardly a distraction, though. There are really no video issues here that would take away your enjoyment—and I use that term loosely—of the film. The picture is rarely exceptionally sharp, but there's plenty of high definition detail on display, especially in the crags and crannies of Mickey Rourke's well-worn face. (Murray's pitted visage is likewise resolved.) Clothing textures also show up nicely, and although Megan Fox's CGI wings never look entirely convincing, they're at least crisp enough. Color is generally vibrant too, with lots of bright carnival-like primary hues and consistent skin tones. Passion Play's picture quality will do nothing to change your opinion of the film, but you can't say this isn't a faithful, nicely detailed transfer.

Passion Play Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Passion Play gets the standard DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound treatment on Blu-ray, and the results are generally strong, even if never exactly wowing. The film is a quiet, mopey, dialogue-driven drama for the most part, and as such, this track is fairly restrained. Still, it delivers consistent clarity, anchored low-end output, and modest surround channel usage. You'll hear some environmental ambience during a few scenes— outdoorsy sounds, strip club clamor, etc.—and a handful of low-impact but effective crosses and pans. Music plays a big part in Nate's psyche, so you can also expect a lot of blowzy jazz. Dialogue is clear and unhindered throughout, with no hisses, pops, crackles, or dropouts. The disc includes optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles, in easy to read white lettering.

Passion Play Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only extra on the disc is a trailer (SD, 1:39).

Passion Play Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Worst of 2011 list just got a whole lot worse. Passion Play, in Mickey Rourke's own words, is "terrible," and unless you're morbidly curious or a cinematic masochist, I don't see any reason why you'd want to subject yourself to its overindulgent awfulness.