The Rambler Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Rambler Blu-ray Movie Review

What?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 2, 2013

What is The Rambler? Is it a Road Trip movie? A Horror film? A disturbing psychological profile? All of the above? None of the above? Few movies make as little sense as this one. It's easy enough to piece together the very basic premise, but beyond the tale of a traveler on his way to Oregon, the movie proves a complete mess of style, theme, plot, structure, and direction. It transitions from darkly humorous to positively repulsive. There's very little sense of "how" and almost no understanding of "why." It's not clear whether this is all happening or if it's all some sort of dream, a natural dream or some variety of drug-influnced dream. There's talk of monsters, but never any kind of sense as to what the monster is or from where it comes. Is it mankind? Is it depraved thought and fantasy? The movie seems packed with symbolism, though what most of it symbolizes seems lost in the haze of violence, disquieting visuals, and mangled structure. This is the ultimate open-interpretation film. Read almost anything into it and there's bound to be some truth. Or, toss it aside and forget it exists. For most would-be viewers, the latter will prove the correct course of action.

Where will the road take him?

A man (Dermot Mulroney) has recently been released from a four-year prison sentence. He returns to the life he once knew and learns he no longer knows it. His longtime girlfriend (Natasha Lyonne) reveals she's pregnant by another man. His friends seem too unlike him, or perhaps prison's made him too unlike them. He takes a job as a pawn shop clerk at an Army-Navy store that does robust used gun sales business. Because of his criminal history, however, he's left unable to legally handle the weapons or conduct transactions. One day, he receives a letter from his brother, an Oregon ranch hand who has settled down with a wife and children. There's a bed waiting for the man provided he's wiling to put in an honest day's work. He leaves all he ever knew behind to embark on a journey towards the great Northwest. What he doesn't realize is that he'll encounter a number of life-altering experiences while on the road, experiences so surreal, so brutal, so unlike anything he's ever know that his life will forever be defined by the choices he makes, the people he encounters, the events he witnesses, and the cursed realities of the life of a vagabond.

Near the end of the movie, the main character states that the road is "cursed." That's certainly not a revelation considering everything that's happened to that point and taking into account all that will happen after he makes that statement, but maybe it offers a little insight into what the movie is trying to be. Perhaps it's the extreme opposite of the classic "Road movie" sort of style in which characters journey from one place to another and along the way discover personal redemption, love, or a purpose in life. Sometimes, they reconnect with loved ones with whom they had previously quarreled and went their separate ways, and sometimes it's just someone trying to find the way home. Rather than reveal these good things, the road in The Rambler is instead akin to a highway running through hell, a road across which the title "rambler" encounters not oddball characters and situations but instead the very essence of terror, including unexplainable visions and happenings, people with disturbing fetishes, and an incredible level of violence, all of which he seems to take in stride, perhaps not accept or understand but at least work around on his way to Oregon. Yet it's his decision later in the film that's perhaps the most haunting thing in the movie, one that seems to go against better basic human judgment. That's just another strange piece of a very disjointed and confused film.

Before it takes a turn for the grotesque, the surreal, and the positively scrambled, viewers will find something oddly alluring about the story of a man who reenters the world and quickly leaves it behind for a life elsewhere. But what is the world to which he escapes? Rather than the literal prison of his past, it seems like, perhaps, some other sort of prison, maybe one of the mind or even the body. Part of the "fun" of the film -- and much of its frustration -- is trying to figure all of this out, and for a movie that starts rather strong it sure doesn't take long to chose the windiest, most twisted road it can find. Dermot Mulroney falls into the part with little effort form an exterior perspective, capturing the essence of the Marlboro Man-inspired journeyman quite well. Unfortunately, the character develops little beyond the look because the film never does manage to succinctly capture any sort of tangible details about what's happening to him. Mulroney seems to simply maneuver through and do whatever is asked of him, and for the most part he maintains the same cool exterior composure throughout the film. The rest of the cast, too, is limited to performing a part rather than shaping a character. It's just all too frenetic and screwy to find much behind establishing characteristics.

The Rambler Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Rambler's high definition transfer won't turn heads, but it's a solid enough presentation all around. There's not a lot of vibrancy; it offers a slightly faded look, at times, but not enough to be considered a major negative. On the contrary, bright exteriors often sparkle, particularly the rocky, barren terrain seen in some scenes and the orange prison jumpsuit from the beginning. The color palette, despite that lack of real punch and brilliance, handles the overwhelming earth tones nicely while not losing much across some of the darker interiors, whether a bar or a trailer home. Details are a strength; there are some great facial textures that reveal the title character's facial stubble with significant realism. Likewise, the texture of his hat or the clarity and definition of those same desert, rocky exteriors show the transfer's worth, as does the vast amounts of gore and slimy monster visuals that appear later in the film. Black levels are fairly strong throughout, while flesh tones never drift too far from the norm. There's not much negative about the transfer, but it's not a showstopper, either. This is simply a solid, dependable, consistent high definition transfer all around.

The Rambler Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Rambler features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's heavy bass and nearly deafening effects to start. The low end falls apart at the very bottom, rattling away with its over pumped pulses rather than delivering a tighter, more precise knock to the eardrums. On the flip side, the track delivers ambient sound effects quite nicely. Light gusty wind, nighttime insects, and other assorted sounds of nature carry the track through many of its quieter outdoor scenes with a light but mood-critical array of content that's played evenly all around the stage, front and back both. Some gunfire in the film explodes not with the authority of a top War picture but with a solid presence nevertheless, not really replicating the sound to natural perfection yet finding enough oomph and accuracy to satisfy the requirements of the scene. Dialogue plays smoothly and crisply from the center. Like the video presentation, there's nothing here that really stands apart from the crowd, but it's a solid performer all around.

The Rambler Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Rambler contains no bonus content.

The Rambler Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some viewers may find value in the mental exercise of trying to decipher The Rambler -- even if it ultimately proves a futile exercise -- and others won't want to waste the brain power on it. It's hardly an enriching experience on a basic level, but those who wish to accept the challenge and are prepared for the oddities, absurdities, and repulsive violence and visuals in the film may discover a movie that will at least stay with them and leave them something to dissect. Even then, the majority of that group may only discover a hollow vessel under the surface. The Rambler will find only a very limited audience. Anyone not interested in escaping the mainstream and venturing about as far from the norm as possible should stay far away from this one. Anchor Bay's featureless Blu-ray offers solid video and audio. For the majority, the recommendation is to skip. For the adventurous few, rent before buying.