Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Goldfinch Blu-ray Movie Review

Royal Tenen-bomb.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 30, 2019

I think we can all agree that movie adaptations of books are rarely equal to (or better than) the source material, so how about we start remembering they're apples and oranges? Case in point: Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning 2013 novel The Goldfinch was a near 800-page behemoth, so there was no way to squeeze it into digestible feature-length format without angering at least half of its die-hard fans. Needless to say, John Crowley's film was not well received upon its September theatrical release, earning a paltry worldwide box office gross of less than $10M on a budget nearly five times that much. Critics mostly savaged it, targeting the excessive running time and, of course, large chunks of missing story. Simply put, The Goldfinch was 2019's easiest target and it was shot to pieces.

The thing is, it does't deserve that abuse. Although the somber atmosphere, deliberate pace, and 149-minute running time might seem a bit daunting to newcomers, I didn't check my watch once during my first and second viewings: for the most part, The Goldfinch is an absorbing adult drama that clearly respects its source material.

An obligatory synopsis might not do any good, but here goes: The Goldfinch follows Theodore Decker as a 13-year-old (played by Oakes Fegley) and an adult (Ansel Elgort), often shifting freely between both time periods. The catalyst for Theo's story is the sudden death of his mother, victim of a terrorist bombing while they visited New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the ensuing chaos, young Theo took a valuable painting from the rubble: "The Goldfinch" by Dutch painter Carel Fabritius, himself the victim of a violent explosion that cut his life short. Carrying the treasure -- not to mention a load of guilt, both from the crime and his mother's untimely death -- to a foster home headed by matriarch Samantha Barbour (Nicole Kidman), he seeks out a local antique shop co-owned by another victim of the bombing. Becoming fast friends with surviving owner James Hobart (Jeffrey Wright), Theo develops a deep interest in antiques and art but is suddenly uprooted when his absentee father (Luke Wilson) returns to take him back home.

There's more to the story; a lot more, yet of course it's not as densely-layered as its source material. Whittling down the revered novel was obviously no easy task but, with a few exceptions, John Crowley's film does a decent job of translating Theo's world into cinematic from. I'll be honest, though: The Goldfinch's most compelling moments are often due to characters, atmosphere, and cinematography rather than straight narrative. Both of its primary locales -- the Bohemian side of New York and the dusty, developing Las Vegas suburbs where Theo's father lives -- are bought to vivid life by Roger Deakins' absolutely stunning cinematography (no surprise there), filled with as many hypnotic visuals as The Tree of Life...but with, you know, an actual story. But while later portions of The Goldfinch -- chief among them a third-act subploy involving childhood running buddy Boris Pavlikovsky (Finn Wolfhard), now an adult (Aneurin Barnard) -- never quite gels cohesively, it nonetheless put a stamp onto Theo's sad, somber tale.

While it's possible that my semi-appreciation for The Goldfinch might simply be due to arriving late and with lowered expectations, I just can't understand what all the hate is about. It's certainly not on the level of a film that deserved to earn back only 20% of its production budget; the poor returns made Warner Bros. cancel the 4K release, and this Blu-ray was even on the chopping block for a short time. Luckily its arrival in 1080p means that Deakins' cinematography gets some much-needed support, and boy does it: this is easily one of the year's best-looking Blu-rays, while the audio and mix and extras -- both a bit limited, but in different ways -- are enjoyable in their own right. It all adds up to a solid overall package that, with any luck, will earn The Goldfinch more love that ticket sales ever did.

The Goldfinch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, The Goldfinch looks absolutely outstanding on Blu-ray and makes me wish that Warner Bros. had taken the chance on a 4K release. Roger Deakins' stunning cinematography shines here, as the attractive compositions and perfectly-lit interiors bring out lots of texture and fine detail within their detailed settings. Costume designs and props, such as Theodore's corduroy attire and canvas close-ups, are especially stunning and add plenty of visual interest. Colors are likewise very well-represented, at least when the situation demands it: primaries really pop and carefully-composed color schemes add depth to otherwise shallow spaces, while other locales -- such as the desert "suburbs" of Las Vegas -- are often drained of vivid warmer colors but nonetheless showcase stunning blue skies. Skin tones appear accurate within the intended boundaries of their respective lighting schemes. Lastly, shadow detail and contrast levels are especially strong; filtered light through curtains is a very good litmus test of this, and The Goldfinch passes with flying colors. Overall, it's truly one of the best-looking Blu-rays in recent memory.

The Goldfinch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Though limited to "only" a 5.1 surround track, The Goldfinch's DTS-HD Master Audio mix is especially striking in its own right. It's a very low key and somber affair during many long stretches, loaded with quiet dialogue that's barely broken up by ambient background noise. Yet there are many strong signs of life, such as a few weather-related events -- those desert winds of Las Vegas and a few strong thunderstorms, for example -- that make themselves well-known without sounding overcooked. Panning effects and strong channel separation can be subtle at times but both are very much present, although dialogue is, for the most part, squarely anchored up front. Occasional action scenes (and, of course, the weather) aside, rear channels are largely reserved for Trevor Gureckis' original score and a few very well placed pop music cues, which snake widely around a few channels and add a nice layer of sonic interest in the process. With no real exceptions, this Blu-ray serves up a perfectly fine mix that carries all the weight it needs to.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles, as well as foreign subs and dubs, are included during the main feature and all key extras. These are formatted nicely and fit well within the 1.85:1 frame with no obvious sync issues.

The Goldfinch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Goldfinch arrives on Blu-ray (again, no 4K option) in a standard two-disc keepcase with poster-themed cover art, a matching slipcover, and a digital copy redemption slip. On-disc extras are somewhat limited -- not surprising, given the film's poor box-office performance -- but they hit almost all the right notes.

• The Goldfinch Unbound (12:56) - This short behind-the-scenes featurette, which features key members of the cast and crew, mainly discusses the difficult task of translating an 800-page novel into a feature film. Other topics include the initial casting process, screen tests, location scouting, the cinematography, and more.

• The Real Goldfinch (8:39) - Most of the featured cast and crew members return for this like-minded featurette, which adds some interesting historical context to Carel Fabritius' original painting (including its current home) while also showing how it was skillfully reproduced for use in the film.

• Deleted Scenes (11 scenes, 16:59 total) - A handful of short and mostly inconsequential moments that work fine on their own but were largely cut for pacing issues. These scenes are presented in 1080p with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio and several include brief introductions by director John Crowley.

The Goldfinch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Crowley's largely maligned big-screen adaptation of The Goldfinch won't make it through any critical analysis completely unscathed, but it's better than most initial reviews and box-office returns would have you believe. The film's lyrical tone, excellent cast, and jaw-dropping cinematography are easy standouts, even though they can't quite cover up some of the screenplay's occasional narrative gaps. (A small price to pay for this largely satisfying adult drama, unless you're completely married to the source material.) Even so, it's obvious that most of the key cast and crew members had a lot of respect for Donna Tartt's original novel -- and while the end result can't help but come in second place, it has a few clear-cut strengths that just can't exist on the printed page. Maybe a blind buy isn't in the cards for everyone, but I'd encourage any interested parties to give The Goldfinch a spin in the very near future.