Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 31, 2016

While enduring a career of sporadic work, writer/director Victor Nunez has a special way with characterization, taking extreme care with the lives he’s dramatically dissecting on film. With 1993’s “Ruby in Paradise,” Nunez delivered a rich understanding of personal freedom and fears, while exploring Floridian locations with unusual respect for the state’s natural beauty and idiosyncratic residents. 1997’s “Ulee’s Gold” is Nunez’s second major feature and arguably his best work, building on the education “Ruby” provided to help blend slightly more commercial interests with his dedication to soulful dissection, led by a terrific performance from Peter Fonda. Channeling the work of John Sayles, Nunez pulls sizable drama out of subtle details and modest personalities, sticking to the basics of human behavior to create engrossing frustrations, gently nudging the tale to mild violence to help provide shape to the character study.

A respected and stubborn beekeeper living in Central Florida, Ulee (Peter Fonda) spends his days tending to his hives, mastering timing that yields exquisite honey from fussy insects. He’s a grandfather to teenager Casey (Jessica Biel) and young Penny (Vanessa Zima), acting as their primary guardian while his daughter, Helen (Christine Dunford), is lost in drug addiction, married to Jimmy (Tom Wood), a felon serving time in a nearby prison. Dealing with physical limitations and an absence of patience, Ulee is about to prepare for a crucial harvest that comes once a year, only to find his time redirected to Jimmy, who’s openly concerned about Helen. Tracking down his junkie daughter, Ulee is confronted by small-time thugs Eddie (Steven Flynn) and Ferris (Dewey Weber), who demand a case of money hidden by Jimmy before he was sent away. Reunited with Helen, Ulee works to maintain interest in her rehabilitation, turning to his new neighbor, Connie (Patricia Richardson), for help with nursing challenges while he handles Casey and Penny’s emotional needs.

Although “Ulee’s Gold” deals with slimy thugs, hidden money, and open threats, it takes the long road to conflict, spending more time with the lead character as he tends to his job as a beekeeper, managing his hives in a professional manner that mirrors his time with Casey and Penny, trying to keep them out of trouble without providing the sensitivity they require. He’s a bitter man, haunted by memories of a massacre during the Vietnam War that left him alone and injured, still nursing a limp, and there’s contempt for Helen, who abandoned her family to fog herself with drugs, making no effort to clean up and restore what’s been lost. Ulee is an outstanding character, offering layers of thinly veiled behavior that Nunez explores slowly but effectively, while Fonda is a perfect choice for the role, delivering perhaps the best work of his uneven career here, delivering consistent, meaningful rituals and a grand sense of observation as Ulee takes in the significant challenges ahead of him, trying to remain calm in the presence of violence and disappointment.

Nunez is mercifully content to focus on Ulee and his mounting problems, embracing parental routine that finds the older man futilely trying to control Casey’s newfound interest in dating sketchy men, while Penny remains his constant companion, learning the ins and out of honey production alongside her grandfather, who’s trying to keep his legacy business afloat as trouble disrupts the harvest. Procedural moments with Ulee and his hives is almost enough to support the picture, watching Nunez celebrate the steps of hard work and the soothing pour of liquid gold. A few bee-taming moments are included as well, contributing to the width of Ulee’s temperament and his patience, which comes into play later in the movie. The other half of “Ulee’s Gold” is more formulaic, but not offensively so. Eddie and Ferris are after quick money, allowing Nunez a chance to create tension through hushed threats and snowballing acts of intrusion, while scenes of Helen’s withdrawal fight test the characters in an organic way, bringing out the worst in Ulee and his grandkids before they can make peace with the situation and restore any type of order. Tone is mostly consistent, with hysterics avoided to find more realistic responses to difficult life challenges, keeping “Ulee’s Gold” wonderfully human.

Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Ulee's Gold" isn't necessarily ripe for HD exploration, finding 16mm cinematography explored adequately in the AVC encoded image (1.66:1) presentation. It's a soft look at the low-budget picture, with focal issues immediately identified throughout, and detail struggles to surface, finding modest textures during close-ups and while visiting the Florida locations, handling depth to satisfaction. Colors are more functional than stunning, capably managing neon-touched nightlife and peaceful trips into nature, handling greenery well. Skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable, finding photography limitations. Source offers speckling, but no major issues with damage.

Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mirroring the general mood of the movie, the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is extremely quiet, requiring a significant boost in volume to meet expectations. Dialogue exchanges aren't robust, but they aren't threatened either, handling hushed dramatics delicately, but it still take some work to focus on the language. Scoring efforts hold more power, capably supporting the film through solid instrumentation and placement. Atmospherics are clean and crisp, adding touches of Floridian wildlife to Ulee's outdoor adventures, while urban adventures retain their intended bustle.

Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Peter Fonda Soundbites" (3:10, SD) discusses "Ulee's Gold" with its star on-set, with the EPK-style conversation celebrating his participation in the movie. Fonda explores his interest in the character, the challenges of working with bees, the beauty of Nunez's writing, and his interpretation of theme.

• "Patricia Richardson Soundbites" (2:55, SD) continue the "Ulee's Gold" conversation with Fonda's co-star, who also describes her respect for the work, her time on the set, and her take on the character.

• B-Roll Footage (6:15, SD) samples the daily labor that went into the production, watching Nunez lead his team through location shooting around Florida, working through various takes and spending time collaborating with his actors.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:56, HD) is included.

Ulee's Gold Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The grand finale of "Ulee's Gold" is far from perfect. Nunez indulges menace suggested earlier in the picture, bringing out guns to generate a more pronounced sense of suspense. It doesn't quite work, but it satisfies, bringing the story to a close neatly, but not offensively so. There's more to savor here than climatic showdowns, with so much of "Ulee's Gold" keeping to a rhythm of introspection and hesitant confession. Nunez finds the heart of his characters with unsettling accuracy, prioritizing the celebration and understanding of their flaws and dreams, creating gripping drama along the way, without submerging the entire effort in a vat of cliché.