Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Reclaim Blu-ray Movie Review

Reject.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 18, 2014

Don’t most internet scams require you to never actually meet the person or people doing the scamming? Isn’t that in fact the very essence of “catfishing” — if one were to meet one’s internet “acquaintances” of any type, a la Catfish itself, one might be in for a major disappointment, right? Investigative journalists like those muckrakers on 60 Minutes and its kin have even spent considerable time tracking down so-called “Nigerian princes” to expose their fraud, and Dr. Phil has a cottage industry of sorts detailing various hapless women who have fallen prey to various internet scams. And so with that thought in mind, let’s just start with one of many logical absurdities that Reclaim trots out to attempt to fashion a heartwarming story of adoption, child trafficking and (just for good measure) hostage taking and ransom demands. It isn’t much of a spoiler to detail the fact that Reclaim deals with a young American couple who have been unable to conceive and who have decided to adopt a young Haitian orphan, flying to Puerto Rico to complete the “deal”. While there, they are wined and dined (figuratively) by the internet company handling the adoption, given the little girl, and told to wait for a few days until final documentation comes through. Though there are a few needless subplots interjected seemingly to pad the running time of the film, what ultimately happens is that the little girl disappears and the couple discovers they’ve been the victims of an epic scam to part them from their hard earned cash. Really? A supposed internet company would go to those lengths, actually allowing potential victims to see and interact with the perpetrators, before delivering the death knell and moving on to their next victims? Alas, that’s just the first of several suspensions of disbelief that are required to get through Reclaim, a film that wants to decry something very abhorrent like child trafficking, but which resolutely refuses to be anything other than a really rote, undemanding thriller.

Pretty housewife and would be mother Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) stares a bit longingly at some pregnant young women lining the narrow cobblestone streets of Puerto Rico as she is delivered to an adoption agency along with her husband Steven (Ryan Phillippe). A devastating accident has left Shannon unable to conceive, and as a quick prologue has already detailed, a huge population of Haitian kids, survivors of the massively destructive earthquake that visited the island nation a few years ago, are longing for normal lives. It’s also quickly detailed that adopting one of these kids is not exactly a cheap proposition, but Steven and Shannon seem only too willing to fork over whatever funds are necessary to secure a happy future with an adorable little Haitian girl named Nina (Briana Roy).

The spouses are introduced to the adoption agency’s liaison Reigert (Jacki Weaver), a really affable and helpful woman (your first clue) who wastes no time in presenting little Nina to the pair. Nina doesn’t speak much English, but Steven and Shannon’s pidgin French seems to suffice, and the three take off together as a supposedly newly minted happy family. At the hotel, the three are more or less accosted by a kind of slimy businessman named Benjamin (John Cusack—your second clue) who seems awfully interested in the trio.

Up to this point, the film is at least passably interesting, with a nicely detailed relationship between Shannon and Steven and just the hint of menace coming principally from Benjamin. But a series of increasingly ludicrous events soon throws everything into turmoil, with a completely absurd development that sees Nina vanishing without a trace, and Shannon and Steven coming to the unhappy conclusion that they’ve been scammed out of a considerable amount of money. That aspect doesn’t concern them as much as what’s become of Nina, however, which sets them off in pursuit of Reigert, leading to even more absurd developments when the pair are taken hostage and it turns out Benjamin had a hand in the shenanigans all along (big surprise).

There are a number of inconsistencies littering Reclaim that don’t just challenge credulity, they virtually defy it. The film’s central thesis is that Reigert and Benjamin are scamming partners who use Nina as bait to dupe unwitting prospective parents. Among their tactics is a deluxe website and personal interactions with their victims. Well, okay then, let’s just pause for a moment to think about that. Their website has pictures of Nina. Their website probably has a host and contact information. If there are a string of victims, one would assume someone would have come forward with information so that others wouldn’t be similarly scammed. That might include a downloaded photo of Nina.

But the film’s most patent absurdity is Nina herself. The little girl has evidently been through this scam before, and yet she does absolutely nothing to stop it from happening again once Steven and Shannon take control of her. Instead of somehow communicating what’s going on, and how she’s been utilized against her will, the film almost seems to suggest she’s a willing accomplice, albeit perhaps coerced. But then that hypothesis is overturned by one of the most frankly ridiculous climaxes in recent memory, where little Nina proves she’s not quite as harmless as might be expected. That the film has the audacity to offer statistics about child trafficking after having offered a certain cinematic brand of child abuse is especially appalling.

Reclaim Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Reclaim is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. However dramatically inert the film is, from a visual standpoint it's quite enjoyable, with good use made of several nice locations like Puerto Rico. There are some oddly ragged looking establishing shots which may have been sourced from stock footage, as well as an opening that combines newsreel footage of the Haitian devastation along with faux footage containing shots of Nina, and occasional interior shots look slightly soft at times, but other than these few moments, the bulk of this presentation boasts a clean, sleek and sharp image, one filled with nicely saturated and accurate looking colors. There are no issues with compression artifacts and the image is nicely stable throughout.

Reclaim Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Reclaim's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix gets off to a nicely robust start with the envelloping sounds of the ocean, and then continues to provide regular immersion throughout. A number of set pieces, including frantic searches and a couple of footchases, offer good opportunities for discrete placement of ambient environmental effects as well as Inon Zur's score. Dialogue is cleanly presented and the track has no issues of any kind to cause concern.

Reclaim Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Alan White


• Behind the Scenes of Reclaim (1080p; 17:11) is a by the number EPK, but at least it has some nice scenery.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p; 8:14)


• Interviews with Cast and Crew (1080p; 14:24) feature Alan White, Ryan Phillippe, Rachelle Lefevre and Jacki Weaver, as well as little Briana Roy.


• "Fighting the World" Music Video (1080p; 3:23)


• Reclaim Trailer (1080p; 2:32)

Reclaim Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's no doubt a riveting drama to be made about the horrors of child trafficking. Unfortunately, Reclaim wants to boil things down to a kind of pint sized version of Taken. Phillippe and Lefevre are largely believable in their roles, which is something of an accomplishment given the absurdities of the plot, but this is an exploitative piece that only pretends it's about something important. For those who are fans of the film, technical merits are very strong.