The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 7, 2017

Writer/director Jeff Baena has made a positive impression during his emerging career, pulling off a horror comedy with “Life After Beth,” and achieving a cinematic miracle with “Joshy,” a movie about male bonding that wasn’t basted in ugliness. “The Little Hours” proves to be his greatest tonal challenge yet, mounting a comedy that’s not always pursuing laughs, and its target is repression found in organized religion. It’s a gamble from Baena, likely alienating a great number of potential viewers right out of the gate, but he mostly sticks the landing, finding ways to scrape out the blasphemy by playing it all so broadly, making a film that certainly has the potential to reach farcical highs, but pulls back a bit too often, perhaps afraid to really dive into the weirdness of the material.

In 1347, the nuns of a small convent located in the middle of nowhere are going a bit crazy. Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza) is sexually frustrated, trying to find any outlet to exhaust her lustful cravings. Genevra (Kate Micucci) is naïve, attempting to participate in the faster lives of her sisters, only she doesn’t have any experience. And Alessandra (Alison Brie) is the daughter of a rich man (Paul Reiser) who’s fallen on hard times, unable to marry off his child. While Sister Marea (Molly Shannon) keeps the peace, Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) is a drunk, and during a trip to the market, he befriends Massetto (Dave Franco), a scoundrel from another land who’s been driven out by Lord Bruno (Nick Offerman) for sleeping with his wife (Lauren Weedman). Taking pity on the homeless man, Tommasso offers shelter in the convent, concocting a story that Massetto is a deaf mute. However, it doesn’t take long for the sisters to catch a glimpse of the handsome stranger, commencing a series of sexual encounters that corrupt the purity of the dwelling.

While Baena plays a sneaky game during the opening titles, showcasing the stillness of life around the convent, the feature’s irreverence doesn’t hide for long, with silence broken by Fernanda, who openly berates the house gardener with cursing and blistering accusations of impropriety just for saying hello. “The Little Hours” presents its silly business right up front, perhaps to wave off any accusations of troublemaking, with Baena making sure viewers understand that while the movie is set in the 1300s, its sense of humor lands somewhere around 2007, delivering a largely improvisational push of comedy featuring a cast of hungry funny people looking to make an impression. “The Little Hours” does feel like a Comedy Central pilot at times, but Baena keeps his picture R-rated and agitated, playing up the sexual frustration that keeps the nuns buzzing, always making terrible decisions.

Structurally, the plot could be assigned to Tommasso, a drunk who accidentally destroys painstakingly crafted embroidery while on a trip to sell it, meeting Massetto in the woods. Offering him a place to stay, Tommasso requests a ruse where the young man plays a deaf mute, giving him a low profile for the good of the convent. The rest of “The Little Hours” tears Massetto’s scheme apart, with the handsome laborer pounced on by the sisters, finding Alessandra searching for escape and Fernanda hunting for release that isn’t donkey-based. Most of the action concerns sexual gamesmanship and hushed seductions, but Baena doesn’t stop there, also introducing Marta (Jemima Kirke), a bad influence from another town who encourages late night drinking games, suckering Genevra into a lesbian experience with Fernanda that rattles her to the core. What’s strange about “The Little Hours” is how serious Baena takes fornication, with the jokes stopping cold once clothes are removed, teasing a softcore atmosphere that’s more awkward than beguiling.

The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation deals with an inherently limited color palette, as most costuming and interior decoration remains black and white, reflecting the religious severity of the material. Colors show strength with greenery, which is lush and inviting, and skintones remain natural. Sunlight provides a warm, golden glow. Detail is sharp, picking up on wrinkles and worry, and nature is precise. Delineation is relatively strong, only teasing solidification during evening adventures. Source is clear and clean. Some mild banding is spotted during the main titles.

The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix deals with softer sounds and stranger timing, leading with crisp, clear dialogue exchanges that secure mumbled and hushed performances, and identifies group activity. Voices are nuanced throughout. Scoring delivers the only sense of low-end the picture requires, offering pleasing percussion and a creative tinkering with period instruments. Surrounds aren't hectic, but atmospherics are welcome, detailing nature walks, rushing waters, birds, and elements of witchcraft. However, the listening experience is largely frontal, which suits the mood of the movie just fine.

The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (11:17, HD) with writer/director Jeff Baena (interviewed by Kate Micucci) explores his early interests in the subject, developing his story over the years, though the production itself came together quickly. Baena talks casting, including interest in Micucci, which solidified during a disaster-prone lunch in Los Angeles, and he shares his love for the Italian locations, with their rich history and natural beauty. The helmer also weighs in on his favorite Italian dish. Lastly, Baena discusses his fascination with improvisation and his personal experiences with local wildlife during the shoot.

• Interview (9:08, HD) with Micucci (interviewed by Baena) spotlights the actress's already established love of nuns and religious culture, making her an easy fit for the role, and she shares her personal highlights from Italy. Baena quizzes the interviewee on her fondness for the arts, asking her to rank careers in music, acting, and illustration. Micucci also shares her thoughts on the film's nudity and extensive use of improvisation, and praises her co-stars.

• Interview (11:21, HD) with production designer Susan Mancini recalls her initial hiring, with her bilingual status helping her employment chances during the Italian shoot. She offers examples of creative challenges, and shares a strange anecdote about an eye injury she had to suffer through to help deal with another crew member's slightly more severe eye injury. Finally, Mancini is asked to name her favorite set from the film.

• Gag Reel (1:31, HD) is a brief look at giggle fits and blown lines from the shoot. It cuts off rather abruptly, suggesting this is only a snippet from a larger celebration of mistakes.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

The Little Hours Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Disrupting "The Little Hours" with sin isn't Baena's brightest idea, but the feature remains quite funny, eased along by pros like Shannon (who always plays cluelessness wonderfully), Reilly, and Offerman, who nails early scenes as a blowhard king trying to figure out who's sleeping with his bored wife. Insanity increases as the story unfolds, reaching hysterics in the third act that feel a bit excessive, as though Baena really had no idea how to end the effort, but the cast (including Fred Armisen, who portrays a visiting bishop) sells swelling disorder around the convent with confidence, generating nervous energy the production is searching for. "The Little Hours" feels a little too slapdash at times, but it remains a wily film with an effective sense of humor, adding to Baena's growing list of accomplishments as he tests out all kinds of bizarre comedy.