Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Poison Rose Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 11, 2019

“The Poison Rose” is meant to be throwback entertainment, restoring an interest in noir entanglements that haven’t been a staple of big screen entertainment in quite some time. The production isn’t shy about its fondness for the genre, with the lead character living above a movie theater showing “The Maltese Falcon,” while a cat is named Raymond and a character is branded Chandler. I’m sure there are more references to be found, and perhaps finding these touches is more entertaining than the actual film. Loaded with characters and motivations, “The Poison Rose” is a buffet of dangerous activity from untrustworthy characters, but director George Gallo doesn’t show much enthusiasm for the construction of suspense, keeping the feature fatigued and overly expository, turning the central mystery into homework, unable to create a delicious cinematic stranglehold. The production wants the audience to know it understands the basics of classic noir, but it shows limited interest in becoming one.

An L.A. resident in 1978 with a host of personal problems, private detective Carson (John Travolta) is down to his last dime, reluctantly taking a job that has him returning to his hometown of Galveston, Texas to find an elderly woman in a psychiatric hospital. Facing his stained past, Carson is reunited with old friends and enemies, including Doc (Morgan Freeman), a smooth gangster who controls the town. And there’s Jayne (Famke Janssen), Carson’s old girlfriend, who has a daughter, Rebecca (Ella Bleu Travolta), who’s currently stuck in a bad marriage with a college football star. Trying to solve the missing person job, dealing with shady Dr. Miles (Brendan Fraser), Carson is summoned to help Jayne when Rebecca’s husband dies suspiciously during a big game. Trying to solve the possible murder, Carson gets too close to Doc’s business, creating tension exacerbated by hitmen who’ve arrived to punish the P.I. for past gambling debts.

“The Poison Rose” has a lot of story to clear through and very limited time to do it. The picture opens with a large exposition dump, finding Carson in a chatty mood, describing his vices (gambling and bourbon being his favorites), his debt, his affinity for “a beautiful woman with a sob story,” and his history in Galveston, where he was once a major quarterback with a bright future before his weaknesses got the better of him, forcing him to leave town and Jayne. This is all mowed through in the first five minutes of the effort, and while it’s not a complicated film, “The Poison Rose” doesn’t take time to breathe, soon on the road with Carson, who takes an easy check from a desperate client, returning to the location of his greatest failures to find an old woman who’s living inside a strange hospital run by an even odder doctor (Fraser attempts a semi-soft Truman Capote impression to add exaggeration to the endeavor).

Once in Galveston, “The Poison Rose” tries to settle into an investigative mood, following Carson as he sniffs around the hospital and comes into contact with Doc at his daughter’s nightclub (where she sings a modern pop song, effectively destroying the period atmosphere). The ex-football hero is reunited with his aged peers and introduced to Doc’s influential powers. There’s time with Jayne as well, finding the mom concerned about her daughter’s mental health as she deals with a terrible husband with problems that mirror Carson’s weaknesses from years back. Screenwriter Richard Salvatore makes an effort to lace up a proper cat’s cradle of interests from numerous characters, but Gallo doesn’t sell any crisis with particular verve, trusting in the smoky powers of detective fiction to get him from one side of the movie to the other.

The Poison Rose Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.38:1 aspect ratio) presentation preserves Gallo's attempt to replicate cinematography from the 1970s, with a softer, warmer palette that favors golden urban glow and sunlit exteriors. Hues are secure throughout, working to communicate period outfits as browns and grays are commonly displayed, while dresses offer livelier looks, bringing pinks and reds into the film. Greenery is appreciable as the endeavor travels around palatial estates, and skintones are natural. Detail emerges from the cinematographic haze, identifying weathered faces on Travolta and Freeman, with aging offering decent texture. Locations remain dimensional, working around long alleys and large homes. Delineation loses consistency at times, with a few evening skirmishes solidifying. Compression issues are periodic, encountering some banding and posturization issues.

The Poison Rose Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix leads with dialogue exchanges, which retain sharpness to best embrace some of the performance choices offered, including Travolta's tight-jawed delivery. Emotionality is never lost, and more aggressive encounters don't work their way into distortive extremes. Surrounds aren't animated, but atmospherics are understood, capturing coastal activity and hospital bustle, also expanding room interactions during club visits. Scoring delivers some weight, with low-end synth drops for suspense needs, providing a little rumble, which is also found with automobile arrivals.

The Poison Rose Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director George Gallo and writer Richard Salvatore.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:11, HD) is included.

The Poison Rose Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Complications ensue for multiple plotlines, dealing with Texas Rules concerning oil and football that Carson doesn't respect. Gallo tries to wake up the proceedings with a few shoot-outs, including a decent one inside an empty football stadium, but the movie doesn't stay in action mode for long. It concentrates more on troubled people doing bad things, and that's never as compelling as the production hopes. There are good actors here collecting big paychecks (Travolta commits the material, and it's hard to get a bad performance out of Freeman, even when he's bored), but Gallo can't shake the slightness of the endeavor, which doesn't connect as a character study or a mystery, never offering a reason to care about criminal intent.