Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Profile Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 5, 2021

Until now, the "computer screen" movie experience has been inexorably tied to the Horror genre, usually, as the case has been, with films like Livescream and Unfriended (and the latter's sequel) most immediately identified within this burgeoning cinematic pool. Enter Profile, the latest from Filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), a film based on the book In The Skin of a Jihadist, written by Anna Erelle. The film, built completely on the computer screen, tells the tale of an English journalist who poses as a recent Muslim convert in order to learn more about the ISIS recruitment process. She discovers much more -- about the organization, its practices, and herself -- than she bargained for.

Struggling English Journalist Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) is collaborating with her editor Vick (Christine Adams) on a piece about ISIS recruitment in Syria. Her plan is to pose online as a new Muslim convert and probe anyone who will listen by feigning friendship, interest in ISIS, and whatever else might sway her contact into divulging information ripe for a story. She finds that person in Bilel (Shazad Latif), a frontline ISIS fighter in Syria who turns out to be as charming on Skype as he is deadly on the battlefield with his Kalashnikov. Bilel is more than happy to speak with Amy, posing as "Melody Nelson." Amy quickly, but efficiently, builds a backstory for her conversion and interest in Islam and ISIS. Her nerves fray quickly, but as she gains Bilel's trust, she grows more and more into the role, suddenly finding herself drawn into the world she only wanted to explore, not inhabit. Bilel falls in love with Melody, and Amy begins to experience feelings for Bilel as well. But are they genuine? Can Amy walk the fine line between clandestinely seeking information and removing her personal feelings from the equation? Can Bilel be trusted, particularly as he urges her to pick up her life and move to be with him -- to be his wife -- in Syria?

This is an intense story of seduction and darkness. Though it may not fit into the traditional "horror" motif, perhaps the film is more frightening than those with digital goblins and overtly dark happenings running rampant on the screen. Here, instead, is the story of a journalist, high strung as she may be, going undercover only to find herself gradually seduced by the very people she aims to expose. She goes into her relationship with Bilel knowing full well the broader truth about ISIS and the way the organization recruits women into sex slavery -- the film opens with Amy looking at a sobering story about a young British girl who converted to Islam, travelled to an Islamic nation, and was ultimately killed for trying to escape -- yet his charms and wiles draw her into his head, and he into her heart, anyway. It might sound preposterous but, even as the film condenses weeks worth of video (and some chat) interactions into about 100 minutes, it grows increasingly real and believable. The question transitions from whether Bilel will discover the truth about Melody to whether Amy, as Melody, will actually allow herself to be swayed by his charms. And if these two opposing puzzle pieces meet, how will both parties respond?

The film works largely due to its actors' chemistry and screen presence. Valene Kane is terrific as she turns from frantic and frenzied, weed smoking journalist in one moment to a hijab-wearing, quiet and shy new Muslim convert in the next. She sells the Melody character's hesitations and reservations, yet also her curiosities and growing allures (fake at first, more genuine later) with well versed character stretch and believable inward depth rather than simply outward acting. She shares excellent chemistry with Shazad Latif, the smooth and charming ISIS fighter who genuinely seems to want to win Melody's heart, even if his way of showing it is sharing a picture of himself with his kitten one moment and sharing videos depicting beheadings the next. The sense of growing authenticity, even as Amy-as-Melody has a front row seat to the life Bilel lives and sometimes finds a peek into the violence he executes, is genuine. Credit Shazad Latif for building a richly versed character, too. There's so much subtlety and nuance to the performance beyond the overt charms and interactions that the film is certainly worth watching a second time with the full picture in mind to witness the performance's depth in full context.

Profile Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal releases Profile to Blu-ray with a quality 1080p transfer, "quality" being a relative term to the film's natural appearance. The image is largely reliant on computer screens, compressed video, and the like. What's here is plenty sharp and acceptable, with the desktop screen backgrounds, icons, windows, and the like appearing about as sharp as if one's own computer were being displayed on the television screen. The image runs into some deliberate trouble with some heavily compressed video clips and Skype calls, but of course these are inherent to the film's very fabric and do not impact the grade. Colors are vivid as they can be, again most certainly on the computer screen and far less dynamic, by design, on the video calls. There's not much more here to report. There are no compression issues that should not be visible so, all else being equal, this is a perfectly fine transfer of a film with limited visual appeal.

Profile Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Profile clicks onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, the only track on offer beyond the two-channel lossy audio descriptive. The track makes mouse clicks and keyboard strokes not only audible but lifelike. From time to time, listeners will hear little hums like the computer fan running in the background. Various computer bleeps and bloops as messages come in, and so on and so forth, are likewise clear and nicely detailed. The track adds some well-defined surround elements with discrete positioning, including Amy's barking dog on several occasions, once or twice to establish its presence and once or twice as a narrative device. There are also some amplified effects – an explosion jolts the listening area with high yield intensity in the 26-minute mark, for example, and another may be heard at the 71-minute mark. Dialogue drives the film, though, and while it is not always easy to hear due to audio quality issues with Skype (inherent to the narrative), it is presented authentically and there are no drops that interfere with the film's sound design structure. For what the film needs, well done.

Profile Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Profile contains no supplemental content. No DVD copy is included. However, Universal has bundled in a Movies Anywhere digital copy code. Also, this release ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

Profile Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Profile is far more compelling than it sounds. It's a richly layered story about truth, seduction, and the blurring of reality in the context of blossoming connection and human emotions. It's extraordinarily well acted and smartly put together, too; Timur Bekmambetov keeps things flowing even as all of the action takes place on screen, usually in video windows and sometimes through chat boxes. This is well worth a watch. Universal's Blu-ray is disappointingly devoid of supplemental content but the A/V presentation is solid within the film's technical contexts and restraints. Recommended.