Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Positive I.D. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 14, 2021

Andy Anderson's "Positive I.D." (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by journalist and author Bryan Reesman and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Do you like what you see?

The main strength of Positive I.D. should have been Stephanie Roscoe Myers’ performance because it shapes up its identity. Myers plays Julie Kenner, a suburban housewife who has been raped by a man that has evaded the police. After the awful incident, Julie has tried to become a wife and mother again, but it hasn’t been easy and her relationship with her husband, Don (John. S. Davies), has started deteriorating.

The screenplay requires that at a very particular moment Myers becomes a chameleon so that she can begin tracking down her attacker. When the transformation is initiated Myers’s first character, Julie, suddenly regains her confidence and becomes Bobbie Knight, a street-smart avenger with remarkable instincts. This isn’t an improbable development, but the transitions between the two characters are rather problematic because the emotional ups and downs that are attached to them very quickly create the impression that Myers is simply acting contrasting parts.

Interestingly, the mechanics of the transformations are entirely believable. Julie figures out how to become Bobbie in a very particular way whose logic and legitimacy cannot be disputed. For example, the documents she uses are not fake, there are just too many loopholes in the system that allow Julie to choose a new personality and begin acting like an entirely different person. What about the chronology of the events that lead to the reunion with her attacker? Each time Julie becomes Bobbie she plays Don like a fiddle but he never ever questions her game. It is not because he isn't bothered by her behavior; rather, it is because he accepts that her transformation is part of her evolving recovery. So, the chronology of the events makes perfect sense, but it is up to Myers to convince that she can be the chameleon that the screenplay wants her to be.

The biggest issue with Myers’ performance is her struggle to produce complete and believable character arcs. While playing Julie, for instance, Myers infuses her performance with an intensity that is greatly exaggerated, which rather quickly brings her on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. From there, Bobbie’s emergence seems very unlikely because she is the exact opposite of Julie -- a confident woman fully in control of her emotions, with a sharp mind that can instantly deconstruct any situation and, if needed, take advantage of it. There needs to be a proper connection between these women so that their behavior does not appear suspicious, but Myers makes them look so drastically different that the personality switches seem entirely artificial.

Myers could have solved the problem by appearing much more subdued and brittle, and by allowing the camera to emphasize her acting inexperience as well. Such a suggestion may sound quite odd, but it certainly would have brought Julie and Bobbie much closer. There is a reason why the film does not reveal any details about the rape -- Julie's psychological damage is so severe that there is no need to go back in time to ‘explain’ the event that has caused it. There is no need to do any 'explaining' in the present either. Here Julie is locked in her protective shell and her actions and reactions tell everything there is to know. The suggested emphasis on Myers’ acting inexperience would have strengthened Julie's insecurity and easily tied it up to her struggle to resume her duties as a normal mother and wife again. As it is Myers’ performance often seems oddly overpolished, creating the impression that her personality switches are simply competing in a drama that is entirely scripted.

Positive I.D. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Positive I.D. arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The film was obviously shot with a very modest budget and on 16mm stock, which was then reportedly moved to 35mm stock. This is one reason why there is plenty of looser than usual grain. However, this release is also sourced from an older master, which is the other reason why in some areas the grain appears even looser. This isn't a serious issue, but you will notice density fluctuations that are slightly exacerbated are not actually part of the original cinematography. Delineation and depth are still quite good, especially in areas where light is managed well. Colors are stable, but it is easy to tell that they can be fresher and better balanced. Image stability is good. Minor flecks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no large distracting debris, cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. So, even though the film can look a bit rough at times, what you have on this release is a mostly decent technical presentation. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Positive I.D. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are no technical or encoding anomalies to report. However, the audio does feel slightly dated at times -- it can get rather 'thin' and even a bit uneven, though I have to remind you that the film was shot with a very modest budget, which would mean that there may not be a lot of room for meaningful improvements. So, the overall quality of the lossless track is still quite nice.

Positive I.D. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for Positive I.D.. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - journalist and author Bryan Reesman explains how Positive I.D. came to exist, and discusses Andy Anderson's background, the state of independent American cinema during the 1980s, some interesting trends that emerged at the time, etc. As usual, there is plenty of factual and interesting information, so if enjoy the film find the time to listen to the commentary in its entirety.

Positive I.D. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The emotional ups and downs of Stephanie Rascoe Myers's characters bothered me because there is a lot of footage where they appear overdone. I wanted Myers to look more naturally insecure before the camera, which should not have been difficult to do because she was not an established professional actress. This film needs an easily detectable sense of spontaneity to appear authentic, but even before Myers becomes a chameleon it already looks a bit too good for an independent low-budget project from the '80s. I did not mind spending time with it because it is rather different, but I really wanted to like it and couldn't. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but decent master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. You can consider picking it up when it goes on sale. RECOMMENDED.