Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Small Apartments Blu-ray Movie Review

Big ideas come from Small Apartments.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 30, 2013

Pain. Love. Fear. Happiness. You choose to feel each of them, so choose to be happy.

If an Oscar were awarded every year for the most unique film, the most eccentric film, and the most unlikely-to-succeed-from-a-creative-perspective film, then Director Jonas Åkerlund's (Horsemen) Small Apartments would be a shoe-in for all three. If all the categories were rolled into one, the year's "strangest" film would also be Åkerlund's prize to lose. Small Apartments is one of the most idiosyncratic pictures from recent years, a picture that's equal parts visually and dramatically repulsive but at the same time oddly charming, captivating, even heartwarming in a classic train wreck sort of way, in this case a train wreck that's been deliberately and safely staged in which nobody has been hurt and in which the end result is the same: one simply cannot help but to gaze in wonderment at what unfolds in the film. It begins oddly, to say the least, and ends much the same, but the journey is really quite remarkable, simpleminded in many ways and deeply complex in others. It's a film that really must be seen to be believed; it requires a wide-open mind and a little bit of faith that it will get better, but improve it does and without losing the rare combination of repulsion and charm that make Small Apartments arguably the most unique movie of 2012.

Who you talkin' to?

Franklin (Matt Lucas) lives in a small, mostly unkempt apartment. He rarely dresses in anything other than his dirty underwear -- even when he ventures outside to check his mail and pick up his daily package of toenail clippings and audio cassettes from his hospitalized brother -- and lives primarily on soda pop, pickles, and mustard. He routinely spies on his neighbors, chiefly the young Simone (Juno Temple), a girl with aspirations of "dancing" in Las Vegas. He's neighbors with the drugged out convenience store clerk Tommy (Johnny Knoxville) and an older artist named Mr. Allspice (James Caan). He's not too popular around the complex, and it's not just due to his appearance, his absence of clothes, and the stench that flows from his apartment. Franklin is a big dreamer who one day hopes to move to Switzerland where he can play his Alphorn in the wide-open spaces. Suffice it to say, his neighbors aren't too keen on his playing in the building. Oh, there's one other thing, and it's certainly contributing to that smell in Franklin's apartment: inside is a dead body. Franklin's plan to dispose of the body leads to a series of unintended consequences that will be beneficial to some and harmful to others, both those he knows from around the complex and for others yet to become a part of his life.

Small Apartments is sort of like a treasure trove of cinema goodness, if one likes his or her treasures of the very much oddball variety. The entire production seems constructed around the idea of showing that eccentricities, strange behavior, accidents, coincidences, and all sorts of little cosmic happenings happen for a reason. They can and will happen to good people gone bad, bad people gone good, and even people who have lost their hair and parade around their apartment's exterior grounds in dirty, stinky underwear (and thank goodness Small Apartments isn't a smell-o-vision film; imagine filthy underpants, pickle juice, mustard, soda, turpentine, human decay, and probably some doggie dung mixed together). It's a humorously dark picture that wades through an awful lot of strange and seemingly random stuff on the way to a surprisingly touching and tidy resolution. The movie makes absurdity, weird characters, and a plot with some twists that are fun and repulsive both into a surprisingly good movie, one that's better left explored on the screen rather than too deeply analyzed in written form. It's better to go in mostly blind than with any idea of what the movie has in store, but do stick around, even if it looks like rubbish from the start; Small Apartments is a classic case of deceiving looks masking a wonderful little gem of a movie.

One must wonder how dedicated to his craft an actor must be to expose him or herself as Matt Lucas does in the film. He ambles about in his underwear for most of the movie, exposing all but a tiny fraction of his body fat and stretch marks, only sometimes covering himself in a coat or shielding his bald head with any one of several wigs he keeps hanging off of nails in his apartment. It's the ultimate in slovenly, disheveled appearance, and though surely there is worse -- much worse -- in the real world, seeing him display himself in such a way for the world to see shows a real commitment to the part, and the movie is all the better for it. Lucas' performance, no surprise, defines the movie. He seems not only comfortable with the physical requirements of the part but also understanding of the picture's efforts to tell a more complex story than that of a simpleminded, slovenly man trying to cover his tracks. Lucas feels the story and that fact shines through, even when the movie is cluttered by the superficialities that fill the frame, whether his unsightly appearance or the three unique apartments featured in the film. The art direction is never understated -- it's quite loud -- yet it's also very simple and delivers quite the visual impact as a critical support structure. There's always something going on -- the collage of pictures in Franklin's room, the wall-to-wall posters in Tommy's apartment, the dark and morbid paintings cluttering Mr. Allspice's dwelling, the zero-empty-space look of the convenience store -- and for as much as the clutter supports the movie, it never overwhelms it. The rest of the cast is as good as it is diverse. Billy Crystal shines as a fire investigator, Dolph Lundgren plays what is probably his most unique role as a body/mind self-help guru, James Caan is excellent as a mysterious older renter, Juno Temple dazzles as a girl who dreams without realizing the consequences of her actions, Johnny Knoxville effortlessly sells the part of the surprisingly deep druggie both inside and out, and James Marsden nails the part of the mystery Franklin brother. It's a wonderful cast in a wonderful movie that should be at the top of every open-minded cinephile's must-see list.

Small Apartments Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Small Apartments arrives on Blu-ray with a very glossy and flat but otherwise spiffy and generally nicely detailed and brilliantly colored high definition transfer. The HD video source material rarely leaves any detail left obscured in any way, but it also shows an almost absurdly clean and shiny overlay with noise only creeping into the darkest corners. Details and stability are often quite striking. Facial lines, the wooden accents on the Alphorn, the odds and ends around the apartments, the run-down textures outside the building, all of it sparkles in high definition. The image is ridiculously bright and lively, too. Colors are many and very vibrant, sometimes even downright harsh when the palette goes over-the-top garish, notably in the scene in which Dolph Lundgren's character is introduced at the book store signing. There's no end to the diversity of the color palette, from cool blues to Simone's neon green jacket, from blinding whites to dull earthen shades. Black levels sometimes stray towards a dark purple shade, but flesh tones seem generally spot-on. Like the movie it supports, this transfer is quite unique. It looks very good for what it is, but those with an aversion to the excessively glossy HD video presentations might be taken aback by just how shiny and smooth this one often is.

Small Apartments Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Small Apartments features a technically sound but largely nondescript DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is at its best when Franklin blows his Alphorn. The effect is nicely presented, with a positive, smooth low end throughout the film and particularly evident at the end when the effect explodes out of the speakers with a deep, rich, and infinitely satisfying feel. The smooth, heavy, steady pulse practically places the listener right there with him and the instrument. Otherwise, the track feels rather bland. Music plays without much muscle but does offer a positive sense of front-side balance with only the barest minimum of surround support. Various sound effects and ambient environmental support elements aren't commonplace, but the track inserts just enough to keep things from going too sonically dull. The movie seems comfortable with its basic dialogue pieces, punctuated by those horn blows. The spoken word does come through without hitch from the center. This isn't a demo-worthy piece save for that end horn scene, but it gets listeners through the rest of the film with no major technical glitches.

Small Apartments Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Small Apartments contains a couple of supplements. (Note: This Blu-ray is reportedly several minutes shorter than its DVD counterpart; no DVD copy was immediately available to independently verify the information or assess which scene(s) have been removed.)

• Small Apartments: Behind the Scenes (HD, 18:14): A basic but wide and somewhat thorough overview piece in which cast and crew talk up the story, the casting process, the performances, the tight shooting schedule, the dynamic photography, Jonas Åkerlund's direction, camaraderie on the set, the film's music, and more.
• How to Build a Gravity Bong (HD, 1:21): Johnny Knoxville teaches audiences how to craft this device.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Small Apartments Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Small Apartments may appear overly crude, pointless, maybe experimental, and certainly just really, really weird from the outside looking in, but for as deliberately messy and outwardly inhospitable the film may be, it's actually really quite good and worth a look. It's one of the more unique pictures to come along in quite a while, and it's the juxtaposition of oddity that morphs into a calming goodness by the end that makes it a real treat. The cast is great, the characters unique, and the art direction strong. Jonas Åkerlund's work behind the camera feels fresh and involved in every scene, and he makes even a slovenly Matt Lucas look good because, once the movie settles in and the audience moves past the shock factor of watching a chubby grown man parade around the screen in his dirty undies, the focus shifts completely to story, drama, and heart rather than the exterior pieces of the puzzle. This is a winner that's not to be missed. Sony's Blu-ray release of Small Apartments features strong video and good audio. Unfortunately, supplements are few. Nevertheless, Small Apartments comes largely recommended.