Shuffle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Shuffle Blu-ray Movie Review

For Zachary.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 5, 2024

Why am I reviewing an obscure indie drama almost nine years past its Blu-ray debut? It's actually a pretty simple story: after reading Kenneth Brown's recent belated review of Kurt Kuenne's absolutely crushing 2008 documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, I immediately watched it and looked up other films by the director. His earliest work includes two full-length films, Scrapbook and Drive-In Movie Memories, as well as the black-and-white shorts Rent-A-Person, Validation, Slow, and The Phone Book, largely made during the 2000s and mostly available for free on his website. 2011's Shuffle (whose script is glimpsed during Dear Zachary) is his only other directorial effort to date, so after reading its interesting setup -- a man wakes up on different and seemingly random days from his past and future life every time he falls asleep -- I immediately ordered this humble BD-R from Screen Media.

Shuffle demands at least a little more explanation than that brief plot summary, yet like Dear Zachary may be best served by avoiding any more of an in-depth synopsis than what I'm about to share. Our story follows Lovell Milo (T.J. Thyne, who also starred in two earlier black-and-white shorts but is better known as "Jack Hodgins" from the long-running series Bones), who's introduced as a young adult pleading his case to a skeptical psychiatrist. Hopped up on presumably high amounts of caffeine and other stimulants, Lovell is desperate to stay awake since every lapse into unconsciousness brings him to another random moment in his life: he could be a wedding photographer several years from now, a pre-teen under the thumb of his strict father Dr. Orson (Chris Stone), or even a 92 year-old man. Sleep is inevitable, though, and each "new" fragment of time inches Lovell closer to the realization that his life is out of order because he's got a mystery to solve; one that involves his long-time sweetheart Grace (Paula Rhodes).

It's an admittedly intriguing premise and, to Shuffle's credit, Kuenne -- who once again wears almost every major hat behind the scenes, including editing and composing -- at least attempts to make the most of it on an extremely limited budget. The first and most notable element of Shuffle, for better or worse, is its tone, which careens wildly from thriller to suspense to comedy and, at least in the home stretch, something of a Hallmark drama. It feels unpredictable at first and intermittently thereafter, but seasoned movie viewers will have no trouble figuring out fairly large developments well in advance. Performances are also a bit hit or miss: Thyne is solid in the lead, Chris Stone isn't far behind, and Elle Labadie (young Grace) is just wonderful in her limited screen time, but other key supporting actors occasionally come across as amateurish and temporarily break the illusion. I also take at least a little issue with its climactic reveal and conclusion, which resorts to religious hokum and don't uphold the thought and care that went into other aspects of this production. Still, the initial thrill of its hook proves to be enough fuel to see Shuffle through to the end, as is the notion that this is more solid work from the director who broke our collective hearts with Dear Zachary.

Again, this MOD BD-R from Screen Media is a modest effort indeed, with only optional English subtitles and a basic menu interface (more on that later) to its name. Still, Shuffle is deserving of a wider audience (specifically, those who enjoyed Kuenne's earlier work and will be able to spot a few thematic parallels here and there), so that fact that this film is even readily available on Blu-ray -- and a low-priced one at that -- is cause for celebration indeed.

Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Having not seen this film before in any other format, it's tough to get an clear reading on Shuffle's 1080p transfer as it appears here. Colors border on monochromatic during many scenes, lots of diffusion is used, and the higher-contrast image shows regular amounts of blooming and (perhaps intentional, but certainly unavoidable) black crush. Fine detail wavers from scene to scene, and it's not until the home stretch that Shuffle's color grading and visual stylizations -- which apparently were done by Kuenne -- are mostly lifted to reveal a more natural image. Due to the disc's high bit rate and lack of pervasive compression artifacts (save for that black crush and sporadic swarms of noise, which again may be intentional), I've got to assume Screen Media's 1080p transfer is a very good effort under the circumstances. Though it's not the most conventionally attractive Blu-ray around, this one nonetheless earns solid marks.

Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The lossy and DVD-grade Dolby Digital 2.0 audio (192kbps) may seem like a mistake and certainly shows room for improvement, but it still generally gets the job done for this low budget production. Dialogue is consistently crisp and clear, foreground and background effects are mixed well enough, and there's plenty of room left over for the original score by... yep, you guessed it, Kurt Kuenne. Obviously a lossless or higher bit rate Dolby track would've yielded better results, but under the circumstances this isn't a deal-breaker. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included.

Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork that doubles as the menu interface. (Its music can also be heard during the end credits, but in my opinion this absolutely doesn't set the proper tone for the film's vaguely unsettling opening scenes.) Sadly, no bonus features of any kind are included here.

Shuffle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shuffle is an interesting indie production and one of the only other feature films directed by Kurt Kuenne, who's most famous for his draining 2008 documentary Dear Zachary. (He also co-wrote 2015's charming Batkid Begins, which was a pleasant surprise.) This film's intriguing premise hits a little harder than the end result, but it's still impressive at key moments and worth a watch for curious newcomers. The BD-R by Screen Media is basic but serviceable.