Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 24, 2014

If it were possible, would you want to know the exact hour of your death? There have been attempts through the years to capitalize on the unknowingness surrounding our imminent mortality with such devices as the so-called Tikker, a wrist watch which takes data about your lifestyle and then “computes” your death hour, letting you know exactly how much time you have left. But even that is obviously riddled with the potential for inaccuracies. What if an actual medical professional were to be able to inform you of your expected death moment? Would you want to know? And what would you do with that knowledge? That’s the general premise underlying the fitfully amusing but ultimately surprisingly flaccid The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, a 2014 remake of a 1997 Israeli film called The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum. The Angriest Man in Brooklyn charts the supposedly last hour and a half of the life of one Henry Altmann (Robin Williams), a middle aged curmudgeon who isn’t having just a bad day—he’s having a bad life. An early snippet of the film details a happier time in Altmann’s history some 25 years previously, when he plays rapturously with his wife Bette (Melissa Leo) and their children. Things have not gone well in the interim, though the film only doles out that information in dribs and drabs as it goes along. In “current” time, Henry first finds himself stuck in a horrible traffic jam next to Washington Square in lower Manhattan, and then finds himself broadsided by a taxi van which runs a red light. When he goes to his doctor’s office for a quick check up, he finds out his doctor has taken a long weekend and he is therefore forced to deal with a young physician named Sharon Gill (Mila Kunis). Sharon has the unenviable task of informing the irate Henry that he’s suffering from a terminal brain aneurysm and has very little time left to live. When Henry flies into a rage and demands to know how much time he has, Sharon, who is dealing with issues of her own and is strung out on painkillers (physician, heal thyself, anyone?), panics and simply blurts out “90 minutes”, something she sees on a magazine cover on the counter next to her. That sets the film on its supposedly madcap course of Henry trying to make amends with his estranged family while Sharon, who suddenly realizes the professional implications of her indiscretion, chases after him to try to ameliorate whatever damage she’s done and get Henry into a hospital as soon as possible.

In one of his typically apopleptic moments in the film, Harry attempts to remember the stages of grief in the famous Kübler- Ross Model, and it might be instructive to simply break this film down into similar component parts for critical analysis.

Denial

It seems incredible that Phil Alden Robinson, the wonderfully gifted director who gave us the supreme silliness of Sneakers and equally supreme (if saccharine) poetry of Field of Dreams, should have chosen this outing as his supposed “comeback” vehicle, after a long hiatus away from filmmaking. Even more incredible, the cast includes Oscar winners Robin Williams and Melissa Leo as well as nominee (and living legend) James Earl Jones, as well as a starry supporting cast which includes Mila Kunis and Peter Dinklage. You may want to deny all of these people are involved in this stinker, but it’s pointless. Time to move on to:

Anger

In what is probably the most appropriate critical “phase” given the furious temperament of Harry in the film, anger may indeed ultimately well up in even the most reasonable viewer’s soul after weathering the maudlin display of melodrama combined with often off the wall comedic elements that make this such a decidedly odd casserole. Daniel Taplitz's screenplay doesn't seem to know whether or not it wants to make merry with a black comedic predicament, or tug on your heartstrings until they break. Neither strategy is explored fully enough and the result may, well, make you mad.

Bargaining

Likewise, viewers who aren’t regularly checking their watches by about the twenty minute mark in The Angriest Man in Brooklyn may well be doing a little Faustian deal making when the film does deliver a laugh or two. “Okay, I’ll keep watching for another five minutes hoping that something like that crops up again.” Unfortunately, it’s a fool’s bargain for the bulk of the film.

Depression

This phase probably relates back to Denial, for after a while it just becomes sad that so many eminently talented people have gone so awry in this film. Williams blusters through the role looking like he’s passing several uncomfortable kidney stones. Kunis simply doesn’t seem to know what to do in the film’s opening act, but she does manage to find a bit of fire as the film goes on (and she has what is arguably the film’s funniest scene, when she attacks a cab driver who is not cooperating with her). The supporting cast, while certainly notable, struggles with underwritten material. A special badge of distinction (of sorts) must be afforded Hamish Linklater. This affable actor evidently tied his star to Williams not once but twice over the past year or so, suffering debilitating returns as a result. Linklater co-starred in Williams’ now cancelled sitcom The Crazy Ones, a show that actually was one of the highest rated new comedies of last season in overall audience, but which failed to attract significant enough numbers in the preferred demographics to ensure its continuation. Now, Linklater appears as Williams’ estranged son, a kid who wanted to become a professional dancer but who was met with withering disapproval by Harry. Hamish's character walks (and/or dances) around in a profound funk for most of this enterprise. You’d be depressed, too, and probably will be by the time the film is over.

Acceptance

The final stage may not come easily, but it will come. The Angriest Man in Brooklyn spends all but about the last five minutes or so charting Harry’s increasingly desperate attempts to do something to amend his past errors, all culminating in a not very convincing suicide attempt (a moment hampered by completely ineffective green screen backgrounds). Meanwhile, Sharon, a woman with her own fairly heavy baggage to cart around, frenetically chases after him trying to set everything right (or at least as right as it can be set). That leaves the closing couple of minutes for a narrated “happily ever after” coda where everything just kind of works out, despite the hyperbolic trauma we’ve been sitting through for the previous hour and a half. Acceptance comes more easily when one realizes the film is finally drawing to a close.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Robinson works with cinematographer John Bailey here, delivering some great location work in and around Manhattan (and Brooklyn, of course). Depth of field in the outdoor shots is often very good, providing a sense of space that the claustrophobic emotional content tends to undercut. Midrange shots and close-ups reveal very good to excellent detail, including the kind of ruddy complexion that Williams has started to assume at this point in his life. Colors, while not overly vibrant, are accurate looking and well saturated. There's a bit of color grading (leaning toward the sepia side of things) in several flashbacks which recur throughout the film. Those elements have somewhat less detail and clarity than the bulk of the film. The image is stable with no overt compression artifacts to cause concern.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix which, while not overly showy, supports what is essentially a dialogue driven film. Ambient environmental sounds are very well placed throughout the surrounds, adding some nice realism to the busy urban cityscapes. Fidelity is excellent on this problem free track.

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (1080p; 6:17) is a standard EPK with interviews and scenes from the film.


• Gag Reel (1080p; 2:51)

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is a surprisingly tone deaf affair from such a vaunted director. Alternately vehement and lachrymose, the film careens so wildly at times that it's next to impossible to hold on, let alone care about any of the characters. Williams runs the gamut of his shtick here, for better or worse, but it's largely for naught in an ironically underbaked and overcooked combination of melodrama and comedy. Technical merits are generally quite strong for any fans of the film who may be considering a purchase.