Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Forger Blu-ray Movie Review

Hardly anybody loves Raymond.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 19, 2015

Do Scientologists have the same metaphysical ability to blame the cosmic overlord Xenu for their misfortunes, in the same manner that believers of more mainstream religions can claim “the devil made me do it”? It’s a cheeky question, to be sure, but not one proffered with any hint of malice: I’m truly curious how John Travolta not only chooses whatever projects he appears in, but then reacts when his efforts are met largely with dismissal if not outright disdain. Travolta’s career has been something of a roller coaster ride at least since (the perhaps not so coincidentally Scientology themed) Battlefield Earth, and if The Forger doesn’t quite scrape the bottom of the galactic barrel the way that film did, it also tends to fritter away its dramatic energy in a number of cliché ridden ways, all in service of a story detailing the exploits of a highly skilled art forger who is attempting to navigate between “career” needs and some family trials that might be more at home in a “very special” Lifetime made for television film. Travolta actually acquits himself reasonably well in this film, with doleful eyes expressing a lifetime of regret, especially when his character Raymond Cutter is attempting to build (previously burned) bridges with his terminally ill son, Will (Tye Sheridan). Also on hand is Raymond’s crusty father Joseph (Christopher Plummer), as well as a coterie of violent criminal types, including Keegan (Anson Mount), the supposed mastermind of a proposed heist of a fabulously valuable Monet painting. The heist angle, which one might think would generate at least baseline amounts of suspense in the film, is actually repeatedly shunted to the side as screenwriter Richard D’Ovidio seems more concerned with the family dysfunctions of the Cutter clan than with a Mission: Impossible-esque set of plot machinations detailing the theft of the painting.

Raymond is in fact incarcerated as The Forger gets underway, and he doesn’t have all that long left to serve—around ten months or so, even if his attorney repeatedly thinks it’s longer. And yet Raymond is hell bent on getting sprung somehow, and he keeps insisting that his lawyer phone Keegan (whose identity is not initially detailed). The next thing we know, Ray has been released and is back at his father’s home in Boston, attempting to reconcile not just with dear old Dad, but with Will, whose health issues are one of the next elements added to the mix. Will is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor and probably doesn’t have long left to live, something that at least provides the adequate motivation for Ray wanting to get out of prison as soon as possible.

Meanwhile Keegan has dictated the terms for keeping Ray out of prison: an iconic Monet painting is due in Boston in about a month, and Ray needs to paint an exact copy, so that Keegan and his thugs can get into the museum, steal the original and supplant it with Ray’s handiwork. That plot point plays out simultaneously with Ray’s attempts to bond with his son, especially once Will’s Bucket List includes wanting to see what Dad does at “work.” One might think that with both the caper aspect and the roiling emotional traumas of the Cutter household The Forger would be content to let those elements unfold, but added to the mix are the exploits of some FBI agents, including Paisley (Abigail Spencer), who are hoping to use Ray to bring down Keegan and potentially even some higher ups in the criminal food chain.

Had the screenplay been able to knit these disparate pieces together more organically, The Forger might have been able to toe a line between the personal and professional aspects of Ray’s many dilemmas. Instead the film spends about two thirds of its running time getting into the interrelationships between Ray, his son and his Dad, with the art forgery element playing out in the background. But then The Forger attempts to make a fairly radical left turn into more pure caper territory, something that is tonally at odds with everything that has gone before and which therefore never builds up the requisite amounts of tension needed for such an enterprise.

While Travolta brings the requisite gravitas to his character, Tye Sheridan is oddly distant and close to somnambulant at times. At the other end of the performance spectrum is a florid turn by Christopher Plummer as the crusty if ultimately vulnerable father and grandfather. Director Philip Martin, a veteran of television, seems to be better equipped to handle the personal dynamics of the Cutters than the putative caper aspect.

The Forger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Forger is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. Somewhat weirdly considering the film's supposed focus on its locale, director Philip Martin and DP John Bailey don't really exploit any Boston locations, and the film's outside elements tend to be anchored mostly around the Cutter home. There's a kind of slate gray ambience on display in a lot of this exterior footage, though occasional brightly lit moments, like a discussion between Ray and his dad in the home's yard, offer a warm and nicely suffused palette. Detail and fine detail are excellent, popping more in the brightly lit moments as should be expected. Some of the interior scenes are quite dimly lit and suffer from inadequate shadow detail as well as a marked diminution in overall detail. Some of the best fine detail comes courtesy of close-ups of paintings, where individual brushstrokes and the texture of the paint on the canvas is precisely recreated.

The Forger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Forger's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is certainly serviceable, but it only works up significant immersion and dynamism sporadically, with elements like the noise of the urban landscape providing good placement of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and the final act provides a somewhat more crowded soundstage that exploits the surround channels more consistently.

The Forger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Identifying The Forger: Creating Character and Conflict (1080p; 7:22) is another standard issue EPK with interviews, behind the scenes footage and snippets from the finished film.

The Forger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's probably too facile to simply say The Forger is ersatz on any number of levels, but that's probably the best way to sum up this odd mash up of family drama and heist shenanigans. The family dynamic, while completely trite and geared toward yanking the old heartstrings as forcefully as possible, at least connects in fits and starts. The heist angle is so completely odd and shoehorned into the film so haphazardly that it almost seems like an afterthought at times. Travolta fans may want to check this out, and the good news for them is that the technical merits of this release are generally strong.