The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie Review

The Little Sick?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 10, 2019

The Boy Downstairs features a setup that might resemble the pilot for a sitcom, but it also kind of weirdly echoes at least some of the underlying feeling if not the outright content of efforts like The Big Sick as it documents the romantic travails of Diana (Zosia Mamet, Girls), a woman who initially shuts down a relationship with Ben (Matthew Shear) due to some incipient wanderlust, but who finds herself living in the same apartment house as he does when she gets back from her travels. Now part of The Boy Downstairs' structural conceit is that the viewer doesn't know the "chronological history" of the relationship, and it takes a while for the reason why there are "present day" dysfunctions to become clear, but the underlying premise of The Boy Downstairs may strike some as being decidedly on the rote side.

Writer-director Sophie Brooks attempts to distract from some of the more standardized elements of her story with a deconstructionist approach that initially offers helpful “three years earlier” or “four years later” subtitles, but which quickly foregoes such hints to simply provide vignettes from different timelines, leaving it to the viewer to figure out when certain things are happening. It’s not really hard to follow at all, but I couldn’t help but wonder if The Boy Downstairs might have gained more of a visceral quality had Brooks not offered any hints as to the “proper order” of events.

Despite some of the arguably cliché ridden foundational elements, there’s a lot to like in The Boy Downstairs. The screenplay is of course stuffed with tic filled twentysomethings, many in the throes of relationship issues, but Brooks’ writing often has an authentic ring, and there are some sweetly humorous moments along the way. Mamet and Shear are well matched as awkward erstwhile lovers whom fate has thrown together for a putative second chance, one “helped along” by a tumble Diane takes late in the film that allows Ben to provide some nursing help. Could true love be far behind? What do you think?

The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Boy Downstairs is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual and FilmRise with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Not much technical data is available online (that I could find anyway), but this feature is another perfectly competent if never really totally amazing transfer of a digitally captured property. Brooks and cinematographer Stefan Weinberger utilize the urban locations smartly, and there's an intimacy to the proceedings generated by a glut of close-ups, most of which offer excellent detail and fine detail levels. I found contrast and brightness to be just a tad wonky looking at times, with a slightly hazy look even in some generally good lighting conditions. The palette can tend to look blanched at times as a result, but overall retains a healthy luster and natural appearance.

The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A lot of the recent spate of pressed BD's from FilmRise (a label previously in the "MOD" business) have been documentaries, and so the lack of a lossless audio track has arguably been easier to swallow, but The Boy Downstairs continues FilmRise's "tradition" of offering only lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, and some may find that choice for a dramedy to be more of an issue. The surround track here comes to intermittent life in some of the city scenes, where background ambient clatter can dot the surrounds, and the winsome score by David Buckley is also placed throughout the side and rear channels, but the bulk of this pretty talky film is anchored front and center. Fidelity is fine, even if the lossy accounting tends to make the low end sound a little anemic.

The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes Photo Slideshow (1080i) is authored without a timecode, but does feature auto advance, which moves along pretty briskly, so have your pause button handy if you want to actually peruse a picture.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:01)

The Boy Downstairs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mamet is a pretty quirky performer, but she's well supported here by some occasionally arch and slyly funny writing, and she has a good partner in Shear, who brings an earnest nerdiness to his characterization. I just wish Brooks had gone for the gusto in her deconstructionist approach and not given any "clues" as to the timeframes involved. That said, this is a generally enjoyable "little" film that may well appeal to those who like off kilter romantic comedies. FilmRise is still getting the hang of "real" Blu-ray releases, and once again offers only lossy audio, but the video element looks generally solid, for those considering a purchase.