Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Straightheads Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2010

Dan Reed's "Straightheads" (2007) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Dan Reed, Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer; behind the scenes featurette; cast and crew interviews; deleted scenes; and original theatrical trailer. Not subtitled in English. Region-B "locked". Please be advised that the film contains disturbing footage that is not appropriate for minors!

I shall have some fun with you tonight

The beginning isn’t too promising. An older woman, Alice (Gillian Anderson, The X Files: I Want to Believe), meets a younger man, Adam (Danny Dyer, The Football Factory), and invites him to accompany her to a party somewhere in the countryside. Of course, he immediately accepts the invitation. Before they leave, she gives him an expensive suit and a well tailored shirt.

At the party, the woman introduces the man to her friends, then they have drinks. Eventually, he gets bored and so does she. They go out in the garden and have sex. The man cannot believe his luck. The woman is pleased with the man's performance and thinks about keeping him as a lover.

On the way back home, the couple hits a deer. They park their car and decide to remove the dead animal from the road. However, a van pulls over and a group of men rape the woman and seriously injure the man. After they get home, the man and the woman decide not contact the police.

Time goes by and the man discovers that he has become impotent. The woman returns to work but quickly realizes that she can no longer perform her duties. One of her colleagues also informs her that while she was recuperating, someone called to let her know that her father had passed away. The woman immediately heads back to the countryside where her father used to live. There, she accidentally meets one of her rapists (Anthony Calf, Dead Cool).

Fast-forward. It isn’t easy but the woman convinces the man that they have to go after the rapist. They move in her father’s house, which happens to be right next to the rapist’s home. First, they kill his dog. Then, they get him. Eventually, the rest of the rapists show up and the man and the woman make sure that they get the same treatment as their friend.

Straightheads is a low budget British drama written and directed by documentary filmmaker Dan Reed, who decided to shoot it after he witnessed a rape attempt. The main characters in it are played by American actress Gillian Anderson and British actor Danny Dyer. In North America, the film is distributed by Sony Pictures under the less intriguing title Closure.

Straightheads is a slow-paced film with hardly any twists. Yet it works exceptionally well. It is uncompromising, brutal and ugly; it embraces violence in a way that is both disturbing and at the same time intriguing. Admittedly, it is not for everyone, but those of you who appreciate raw cinema will enjoy it.

The acting mostly fits the tone of the film. Anderson's British accent isn't overly convincing, but her angry outbursts are. Her complete character transformation after the rape is also believable. Dyer, who often likes to play tough guys on a mission to prove something to someone, also does a decent job as the boy toy gone mad.

Technically, Straightheads does not break new boundaries, but in all fairness it does not have to. The film also does not attempt to produce any moral lessons to validate the violence it shows. Instead, it lets you endure it, recognizing its ugliness, and later on think about whether or not it was justified.

Finally, I wish to warn those of you who would want to see Straightheads. Though the violence in the film isn't graphic, it is very disturbing. The final twenty or so minutes, in particular, are almost unbearable. Also, Straightheads is most definitely not appropriate for minors.

Straightheads Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i50 transfer, Dan Reed's Straightheads arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures.

Considering that Straightheads was shot in Super 16, I think that the transfer actually looks quite good. There are some contrast fluctuations, especially during the first half of the film, but I believe that they are inherited and not related to the manner in which the film was transferred to Blu-ray. Clarity is pleasing, but, again, there are certain limitations with the nighttime footage that are quite obvious. Some of the indoor scenes also look soft, especially where light is limited. The film's color-scheme is unproblematic - greens, blues, browns and grays look natural. Edge-enhancement is also not a serious issue of concern. Mild digital noise, however, is occasionally noticeable. Finally, I did not detect any heavy motion-judder while viewing the film. All in all, Straightheads is a low-budget film, and it clearly shows. However, there are no serious technical flaws with its Blu-ray treatment. (Note: This Blu-ray disc is encoded in 1080i50, a standard not supported by the overwhelming majority of Blu-ray players and TV sets in the U.S. Therefore, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting 1080i50 to 1080i60, or a native Region-B player and a TV set capable of displaying 1080i50 data, in order to access the disc's content in the U.S.)

Straightheads Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Verve Pictures have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is decent. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. Some of the accents, however, are quite thick, so optional English subtitles should have been included. There are no serious issues with Ilan Eshkeri's modest score. Finally, I did not detect any pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review. (Note: The R1 SDVD release contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track, as well as optional English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean and Thai subtitles. While I am perfectly satisfied with the English LPCM 2.0 track found on this disc, I am not pleased to see yet another release by Verve Picture that lacks optional English subtitles for the main feature).

Straightheads Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Interviews: Director Dan Reed addresses specific scenes from the film, the main characters, how the film came to exist, etc. Gillian Anderson talks about her character and the memorable party scene. Finally, Danny Dyer talks about the character he plays and working with Gillian Anderson. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min).

Deleted scenes - a gallery of deleted scenes with optional commentary by cast and crew members. (30 min).

Behind the scenes - raw footage from the party (selected B-roll). (8 min).

Commentary - an audio commentary with director Dan Reed, Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer. This is a rather casual commentary with some hilarious comments from Gillian Anderson. Interestingly enough, she kept her British accents after the film was done. Go figure.

Straightheads Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Straightheads is a low-budget British thriller that truly is as brutal as advertised. Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer are convincing in the film, but I doubt they would ever go back to shooting something even remotely similar to it. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures, looks and sounds good. It is, however, encoded in 1080i50 and Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.