Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Staten Island Blu-ray Movie Review

Where's Joe Pesci when you need him?

Reviewed by Dustin Somner January 15, 2010

I’m not exactly up on my Staten Island history, but if you listen to the introduction to the latest film about the fifth borough of New York City, you’ll end up with a picture that’s not what I’d consider a glowing report. It would seem Staten Island is somewhat notorious for the role the mafia has played in the New York suburb over the years, which led to the assumption that the borough is a dumping ground for bodies of those that crossed various members of the mob. Digging into film history over the past few decades, it appears Staten Island is also the chosen filming location for the mafia genre, having played host to The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Donnie Brasco. I suppose it was only a matter of time before somebody decided to revisit the island for another stab at the genre, so it seems fitting that the man behind a film titled Staten Island also happens to be a New York City native. For those who’ve never heard of writer/director James DeMonaco, he was the man behind the screenplay of the Assault on Precinct 13 remake starring Ethan Hawke (he also co-wrote The Negotiator starring Samuel L. Jackson). Stepping into the director’s chair for his first outing, DeMonaco has crafted a film that feels a bit too familiar for its own good, but still manages to offer an entertaining experience.

Creepy or endearing? You be the judge.

Set against the sleepy suburban backdrop of Staten Island, the film opens to a clichéd mobster interrogation of some unfortunate soul who wronged the mother of a small-time mob boss (Vincent D’Onofrio). As we soon learn, this mafia figurehead named Parmie Tarzo has a bit of an attachment disorder with his elderly mother, and spends most of his life searching for a shred of respect or recognition from society (usually in vain). The interrogation is cut short when he receives a phone call reminding him of his scheduled attempt to break the world record in holding your breath underwater. When that doesn’t work, he moves on to plan B, announcing his intention of taking over all mafia-related activities across Staten Island. Unfortunately, there’s a mole in his midst, who quickly delivers the announcement to a rival group affiliated with the Russian mafia. Forced to fearfully look over his shoulder as a result, Tarzo apparently never considered the consequences of such a bold move.

The second story centers on a sewage collection laborer named Sully Halverson (Ethan Hawke), who spends his days shoving a hose into the sewage tanks of Staten Island’s yuppie population. At the end of every grueling day battling spraying sewage, he often endures three showers before the lingering stench of human waste disappears. Despite his lack of education, Sully is madly in love with his girlfriend Maria (Julianne Nicholson), who wants him to father a child with her. After months of failed attempts, the two love-birds pursue help from a specialist, and Sully discovers a new experimental genetic selection process undergoing testing at the facility. After receiving some advice on increasing their chances of getting pregnant, Sully sets his sights on finding a way to cover the cost of the genetic selection process, in hopes his child won’t be predisposed to following in his footsteps. Did I mention he will do ANYTHING to come up with the money?

The third individual tale introduces viewers to a deaf/mute deli assistant named Jasper (Seymour Cassel). While most people are enjoying a fun-filled life of retirement, Jasper continues to get up every morning to deliver a smile to the patrons of his employer’s meat market. At night, he heads to gambling hall to place a trifecta bet on three horses within a single race. Given the low odds of winning, and the fact that he hasn’t won in the entire 40 years he’s been following this routine, most people would think he’s a fool. Fortunately for Jasper, lightning has to strike somewhere, and just as somebody could end up in that unlucky scenario, he might stumble onto his pot of gold after all.

Now that you’ve read a brief introduction to each segment during the film (and before anyone accuses me of spoiling the plot), it’s important that you understand these are merely the setups for the collective story. Paying homage to films such as Pulp Fiction, Staten Island tells three individual tales that eventually converge in a predictable but entertaining way. Although events don’t necessarily proceed in a sequential fashion, there’s not a terrible amount of overlap between the individual perspectives on the circumstances that play out (one of the primary failings of films such as Vantage Point), allowing each character to grow and develop in their own way. I truly appreciated the structure outlined by writer/director James DeMonaco, since a film of this nature has a tendency to reveal too much in the early stages, or not enough to keep viewers interested to the bitter end.

Despite my appreciation for aspects of DeMonaco’s directing, I wasn’t a huge fan of the disjointed tone in Staten Island. Mixing cringe-inducing violence or gore with a dramedy isn’t easy to pull off, and DeMonaco lacks the experience to make it work. One minute we’ll be laughing at a joke or grinning at the sincerity of Jasper’s heart-warming personality, and the next we’re watching him dismember a body. Thinking back on films that pulled off the combination with any measure of success, I’m only able to name a handful of entries in a growing list of candidates (Lucky Number Slevin and Pulp Fiction are two perfect examples). I hate to knock the guy for trying something difficult on his first outing as a director, but he should have understood the importance of maintaining a consistent tone throughout the film. As it stands, you’ll feel uncomfortable whether you find the film laughable or sadistic.

I can’t bring myself to end this review without briefly touching on Seymour Cassel’s performance as Jasper. As one of Hollywood’s most recognizable but underappreciated actors, Cassel delivers a stand-out role without ever speaking a word. Sure we’ve seen other films where actors play a character that’s deaf and mute, but I can’t recall a prior performance where someone delivered the alienation and depth of emotion with such care. Some of the credit certainly has to be thrown in the direction of DeMonaco’s screenplay (which I’d assume offered a jumping off point for Cassel), but if there was ever a role that displayed the 74-year-old’s acting prowess, this is the one. In a film full of flawed characters that seem devoid of compassion, Jasper reminds us we’re only as good as we strive to be.

Staten Island Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080i utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 18Mbps), Staten Island is somewhat hit-or-miss on Blu-ray. The primary area of inconsistency is the level of clarity, which rarely displays texturing on facial features, the fabric of clothing, or fine strands of hair. Given the lack of film grain throughout the production, I'd conclude the lack of precise textures is due to an overuse of DNR to filter out "unwanted" aspects of the source material. Unfortunately, the negative effects of DNR far outweigh the positives, damaging the proficiency of fine object detail in the process. The second problem with the transfer is the presence of what appears to be brightness boosting, which affects the depth of black levels and wreaks havoc on contrast. The problem is most apparent in darker scenes, where shadow details blend together into large clusters of black. On the positive side, the color spectrum looks quite good (especially during scenes in the daylight), and I rarely noticed any compression artifacts or digital anomalies (which usually plague 1080i offerings).

Staten Island Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

At first impression, the lossless surround mix for Staten Island may seem a touch on the weak side, since the majority of the audio elements are delivered through the front sound field. However, as the film played out, I found a new sense of respect for the unique sound design. For instance, there's a robbery scene about halfway through the second story in the film (introducing the septic collector), where one of the thieves hears a gunshot within the house and moves toward the room where an elderly resident was watching television. As he gets closer and closer to his destination, the muffled sound of the television program rises in volume throughout the entire surround field, delivering an outstanding sense of immersion. Another great audio sequence features Seymour Cassel in his role as the deaf-mute deli attendant, who's tasked with completing a less-than-savory side job for the mafia. During one particular scene, a body is brought in, and the audience is treated to an audio experience that replicates Jasper's inability to hear sounds or voices. It's similar to the effect you occasionally hear in war films when an explosion occurs near a soldier and they temporarily lose their sense of hearing. What makes the effect more impressive in Staten Island is the realization that he's able to hear one cringe-inducing aspect of his deli job, which involves the use of a saw (you'll have to see the film to truly appreciate what I'm referring to). Aside from the creative audio inclusions previously mentioned, this is a laid back mix that lacks the aggressive nature of an action-heavy mix, but still suits the material just fine.

Staten Island Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Interview with Vincent D'Onofrio (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 2.19 min): This extremely short interview shows the actor joking about Staten Island, and discussing the themes he was striving for in his role as Parmie Tarzo.

Deleted Scenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 2:36 min): The two deleted scenes included offer little worth in the context of the film, so it's understandable they were cut from the final product.

Rounding out the extras, we have a 480p trailer for Staten Island, and an audio commentary with writer/director James DeMonaco, who's joined by actors Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio. The commentary track is fairly interesting if you're a fan of Hawke or D'Onofrio, since they spend a good deal of time discussing their individual roles, and offering acting advice.

Staten Island Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite enjoying certain aspects of Staten Island, I found it difficult to offer more than a lukewarm rental recommendation. The film itself is entertaining enough for a single viewing, but like so many other entries in the "converging stories" sub-genre, it fails to leave a lasting impression. As a result, the replay value takes a tremendous hit, since I can't imagine many viewers choosing to sit through a film when they already know the telegraphed manner in which it ends. I really wish I could give DeMonaco's first directorial outing a higher overall score, but he just barely missed the mark. Purely from a technical standpoint, I was disappointed to find a newly released Blu-ray encoded in the inferior 1080i resolution, and the audio experience doesn't go far enough to rectify the downgrades on the transfer. Stick with a rental, or wait for the film to hit the lower end of your Blu-ray budget.