Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Submission Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 10, 2018

Submission's point of interest is that it's an interesting examination of the dangerous edge that can develop in the relationship between teacher and student. It offers little in the ways of creative intensity, dramatic thrills, or even complex characterization, but the movie is saved by the developing intricacies of the relationship, as it grows to a climactic moment and falls off significantly in an entirely different direction. The movie, based on a novel entitled Blue Angel by Francine Prose, which shares a name with a film prominently featured in this movie, dabbles in elements of famous "forbidden relationship" Thrillers but seems to go out of its way to keep actual thrills to a minimum and focus on how the characters evolve alongside the relationship. Director Richard Levine (Every Day) does little, creatively, in support of the film but he does stay out of his talented cast's way and allows it, and the script, to breathe; he facilitates their interaction but otherwise allows Tucci and Timlin to do the heavy lifting.

Ted Swenson (Stanley Tucci) is a semi-successful novelist whose first book sold well enough to warrant his publisher ordering another. The writing process is slow and Ted has taken a position at the tiny, but well-paying, Houston College where he can write in between teaching duties, which are relatively few, and benefit from the good pay and health insurance in the meantime. He is frustrated with his students who are incapable of writing, constructively critiquing, or even understanding the point of the class. The lone bright spot is Angela (Addison Timlin), a girl who is well read, very literate, and a burgeoning novelist. She in the process of writing her book, titled Eggs, and she impresses Ted enough to get him to read chapter one. He's blown away. It's great work that absorbs him and draws him closer to Angela, who seems equally infatuated with him. As the two develop a close and potentially inappropriate relationship, Ted's world and focus grow ever more narrow and the danger of it crumbling around him ever more likely.

Submission is ultimately about an older man who is outclassed by his younger student, outclassed mentally, emotionally, and literarily, too. He's certainly an accomplished man. He's holding down a good job with plenty of benefits -- including time to write -- and his first novel was enough of a success that his publisher is wanting to see more of his work, but along comes a pretty and ambitious student who plays him like the proverbial fiddle. And best of all, for her, anyway, he has no idea. He's impressed with her writing and, to his credit, seems to be falling more for her book than her body. But it would seem their relationship is anything but organic. She works every angle, and her creativity off the page is as boundless as it is on it. As the story develops, Ted remains blissfully blind to what is really happening around him until the hammer all but literally comes down on his life.

And what's great about the movie is that the audience gets caught up in the relationship, too, and like Ted becomes blind to the farther-reaching consequences of the infatuation with Angela. Even as Ted clearly heads further down the slippery slope -- which he certainly knows he's on at some level of his being -- there's this feeling that maybe everything will work out for everyone involved. Both will find what they need form the other, not necessarily sexually but emotionally and, yes, even professionally, that Angela will earn the opportunity to be published and Ted will find the necessary inspiration to crank out his next novel. But that's not an interesting story. Submission, a title which takes on several different meanings depending on any given sequence or the avenue by which one approaches the movie, is sly in how it shapes the story and manipulates the characters and the audience. It lulls both Ted and the viewer into a false sense of security, contentment, and in the promise that what is clearly wrong is somehow right for everyone involved. It's very dark when one considers it beyond the surface, and a second watch would certainly be rewarding in picking up on any (likely many) subtleties that play in preparation for its ending.

The cast is terrific. The film's intimate roster allows for a tight focus on Ted and Angela, and the supporting cast is just that, a collection of good actors who facilitate the necessary building blocks that help construct the story around the leads. Tucci (with hair!) falls into the role nicely. He's believable as both a college professor and a writer whose disconnect from his students is obvious and his frustrations with his place in life -- despite the security of a good job, a loving wife, a successful book, and the prospects of writing another -- are palpable in every scene. His connection to Angela is less about her body and more about her book. And she plays off of that, though certainly she understands the male psyche and works a sexual angle into her plan. Timlin nails the part, balancing the starstruck student, the shy writer, and the cold and calculating manipulator equally well. She thoroughly understands the character and sells each detail of the multifaceted performance with equal complexity and effortless ability.

Submission Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Submission offers a very good, balanced, and well-rounded 1080p transfer from Universal. The film was digitally captured but beyond lower light noise offers a texturally superior and tonally accurate presentation. Details are quite impressive. Facial details are captured with commendable intimacy, presenting pores, facial hair, makeup, and other qualities with tack-sharp precision. Environments around the college yield superior clarity and definition, too. Colors are neutral, with bolder shades popping with impressive confidence while lesser support hues carry many backgrounds and melt into the frame. Skin tones are fine and black levels offer no reason for concern. This is a very good all-around image from Universal.

Submission Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Submission features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is a solid all-around track. Music is clear and detailed with good stage width and mild surround implementation, allowing the fronts to dominate while the backs gently support essential elements. A meeting scene around seven minutes into the film offers some positive reverberation, the track opening up to recreate the location's natural acoustics. Exterior shots offer inviting nighttime insect ambience in chapter four, while light piano music at the small get-together in the next scene warmly opens and draws the listener into the scene. Various campus exteriors offer light but critical elements such as clock chimes and chatter. The track is rich in subtle sonic texture, and the 5.1 track creates a large and seamless sense of place throughout. Dialogue commands the entire picture, and it presents without any discernible flaw to be found in terms of delivery, positioning, and prioritization.

Submission Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Submission contains no supplements. The film begins playing on its own from the main menu screen after a few moments. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release does not appear to ship with a slipcover for those concerned with such things.

Submission Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Submission is a subtly compelling film that removes focus from the carnal desires of a forbidden relationship and towards something a little less familiar and tangible. Both characters want -- yearn -- for something that they do not have, and the film becomes, gently at first and more obviously later on, a battle of wits as Angela uses Ted for her gain. It's a quality picture that's well acted and with enough distance from type and contrivance to make it a worthwhile and rewarding watch. Universal's featureless Blu-ray offers steady video and stable audio. Recommended.