Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Restless Blu-ray Movie Review

This is the day.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2012

In death, as in life, I will remain forever yours.

Death is the natural and unalterable destination of life and the only certain thing in this world (even taxes aren't quite up there). It's also the one debate, the single scientific curiosity, that will never be settled or resolved, though it's certainly the one thing that personally effects every living being on the planet, and the one thing that every sentient being contemplates. With so much activity surrounding it, so much brain power devoted to it, one can only wonder how it remains the true great mystery beyond the cold physical facts that surround the process of death. Restless is Director Gus Van Sant's (Good Will Hunting) take on death as seen through the eyes of two unique individuals, but death is but the prism through which the film truly celebrates life. It's dark and sometimes even macabre but at the same time peaceful and pleasant. It nicely balances the realities of death, even if it does so through two grossly unconventional characters. Restless plays with an unusual brand of metaphysics, but through its quirks, novelty, and somewhat abstract approach to death, it becomes a relatively strong picture of coping with, understanding, and accepting the known truths of life's greatest mystery.

Life and death.

Enoch (Henry Hopper) lives a fairly complicated life. It may not look it on the outside, but his thoughts and actions paint a vastly different picture. He doesn't go to school: he instead goes to funerals. He doesn't know the dearly departed, but he attends, anyway, dressed in black and fascinated by the process of death and what comes after. At one of the funerals, he meets Annabel (Mia Wasikowska), a young girl drawn to the works of Charles Darwin, herself something of a naturalist. She and Enoch immediately become friends, even as Enoch's dark secrets -- his funeral crashing, his imaginary friend Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) with whom he plays Battleship, his brush with death, his parents' passing -- are revealed and her love for life becomes apparent. In fact, Enoch's unusual ways only strengthen their bond, as does Annabel's revelation that she's dying of cancer. She only has three months to live, three months the two use to live life to its fullest and come to understand that death is perhaps best seen as a celebration of life rather than a somber event, an event that should not cause one to stumble or stop living, even as he or she continues on down the road towards the inevitable.

Restless externally and initially appears to be some sort of macabre, dark story of an odd obsession as told through the eyes of an even odder character. But as the story develops, it becomes clear that Restless is anything but, instead morphing into a rather tender, goodhearted, sometimes even playful picture about finding purpose in live even as the realities of death hang over it. It's not until the final shot does the film come completely into focus, but Gus Van Sant's picture is certainly a journey worth taking, even if doing so requires an acceptance of a whole that's fairly off-kilter from the usual brand of Hollywood Drama. The entirety of the picture revolves around death -- Enoch's parents are dead, he himself was declared dead for a matter of minutes, he "respectfully" crashes funerals, he's befriended the supposed ghost of a kamikaze pilot, and the new girl in his life is slowly dying of cancer. Together, Enoch and Annabel "speak" with his dead parents. Neither lives with a death wish, per se, but Enoch wishes to more fully understand death while Annabel strives to appreciate life, and they do so by embracing both in a roundabout sort of way. Annabel certainly doesn't fear death, and Enoch comes to celebrate life through Annabel's strengths. This is a beautiful film of discovery, a journey towards understanding and true emotion that speaks loudly on the value of the life through its relatively subdued and sometimes even somber story of death.

Restless surrounds itself with death and the natural order of things. The story is best reflected by the tale of a bird that believes it has died by night and, when the sun rises and it finds itself still alive, it sings a song of great beauty and rejoice, happy to still be amongst the living. That's the key. Restless celebrates life even as death -- literal or metaphorical -- looms with the darkness. Gus Van Sant's film plays with an obvious tenderness but never is it bright and cheerful. It's instead reserved and quiet, understanding of the pain and accepting the inevitable but always favoring the good over the bad. The cast is quite strong, too, and both lead actors embrace the film's deeper themes and challenges and morph themselves into wholly believable and even lovable characters, even as they partake in rather dark endeavors. Their journey is one of quiet strength and growing understanding. Mia Wasikowska is brilliant, becoming a character who has already reached the place where Enoch must still arrive. Henry Hopper's reserved but deep performance is an asset through the journey, a journey which captures subtle emotion but never manipulates its audience, for the film proves remarkably effective in asking its viewers to choose to celebrate life rather than wallow in death.

Restless Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Restless isn't a traditionally "pretty" movie by any stretch of the imagination, but Sony's 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer appears to handle the film's darker, softer stylings well enough. Indeed, this is a fairly soft, muted, sometimes murky-looking movie. It occasionally favors a slightly warm palette, even through a general dimness that never really showcases any vibrance. Flesh tones are a hair warm and pale, but blacks are fair, if not a touch murky here and a bit washed out there. Fine detail is never really exceptional. Clothing textures fare best -- Annabel's sweater, the patches on Hiroshi's flight suit -- but faces often look pasty and nothing is strikingly defined. The image sometimes struggles with its display of slight color gradations; faces in some of the lower-light scenes produce banding, uneven color transitions. This isn't a movie that would be used to sell TVs, but the transfer does appear representative of how the movie is supposed to look.

Restless Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Restless features a fair DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. One can probably surmise that this will be a track of the reserved variety; there's no action or dynamic sound elements, but Sony's presentation suits the material nicely. The opening title music plays as expected, nicely spaced and with good clarity, a balanced low end, and a bit of surround support. Light ambience is strong; the opening funeral features words that echo about the listening area noticeably well, while general background noise -- laughing, chatty funeral goers -- plays with a good, immersive presence. Natural and unnatural ambience alike -- chirping birds, the rattly interior of a traveling bus -- do well to help the listener get a feel of what's happening in each environment. A handful of more pronounced effects are handled very well; a distant train whistle, for example, plays with a very natural flair. Dialogue is the track's centerpiece, and it plays without hitch through the center channel. Though it lacks flair, this is a positive, balanced soundtrack that serves the movie very well.

Restless Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Restless contains several short featurettes and a silent version of the film.

• Gus Van Sant's Silent Version of Restless (1080p, DD 2.0, 1:16:25): Sony describes this version of the movie thusly: "After he had filmed the scripted scene, Gus Van Sant directed his actors to do a completely silent take of the same scene. He did this for every scene of the film. The following film has been edited together using only the silent version of each scene." The film plays with sound effects but sparse dialogue is presented via old fashioned silent movie cards.
• Enoch & Annabel: One Love (1080p, 6:20): Cast and crew discuss the movie's themes, its plot, the character dynamics, and the work of the cast.
• Enoch & Hiroshi: The Best of Friends (1080p, 4:06): A short look into Hiroshi's origins and role in the movie.
• Gus Van Sant: Independent Voice (1080p, 6:04): Cast and crew talk up the work of Director Gus Van Sant.
• Being Restless (1080p, 9:50): A look at the history of the production, the assemblage of ideas, the shaping of the story, costuming, the silent version of the movie, and the movie's themes.
• Coming to Life: This is Restless (1080p, 6:04): Writer Jason Lew and Producer Bryce Dallas Howard discuss the script, the work of the cast, and the evolution of the film's title.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 8:39): Enoch Car Gag, It's a Long Trip, and Enoch and Elizabeth.
• Restless Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:14).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.
• DVD Copy.

Restless Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Restless is a strong film of understanding and acceptance. It's about love, a love of life, a love of time, a love of the good rather than the embracing of the bad. It's subtle but very effective, exceptionally crafted, and very well acted. It's unusual, perhaps not for all audiences. It's not a traditional tearjerker, in large part because it's so very effective in its message on celebrating life rather than mourning death. Sony's Blu-ray release of Restless features good technical presentations and a fair number of extras. Recommended.