6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear--but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?
Starring: Claire Foy, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, Amy Irving, Joshua LeonardHorror | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 21% |
Mystery | 10% |
Dark humor | 2% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.56:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.55:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The moral of the story: "know what you're signing." In Director Steven Soderbergh's Unsane, a young woman is inadvertently locked away in a mental institution because the system let her down and her paranoia -- whether that paranoia be founded in some reality or wild, truly insane fantasy -- played into the notion of necessary intervention in a world where bureaucracy and "better safe than sorry" has replaced common sense and careful consideration of the facts. While the film ends on a fairly rote note, it does build with an appropriately haywire sense of uncertainty and panic as the fragile-psyche lead is unwittingly committed and meds are unwillingly shoved into her system. Soderbergh captures the film with a regular barrage of skewered perspective shots that put the viewer in a state of restless unease. The film is often cramped, uncomfortable, and effectively draws the audience into the lead's mind and the confines of the rather scary world around her. There's a boogeyman, too, but best to leave some of the movie's secrets alone.
If the moral of the story is "know what you're signing," the moral of Unsane's technical presentation is "you too can make a movie!" (or not).
The
always experimental, cutting-edge Steven Soderbergh shot the film -- entirely -- on an iPhone 7 Plus, reportedly only with the aid of a Moment Lens. Obviously it
wasn't captured entirely handheld and the footage underwent some level of post-production software tweaking, but it's essentially just a camera phone
movie at its center. And watching the movie, it makes sense. With so many tight perspective shots and cockeyed angles where a bulkier camera might
not fit, the comparatively diminutive iPhone can essentially be positioned just about anywhere to capture anything. With proper lighting and
Soderbergh's keen eye for complimentary visual perspective, it works, and rather seamlessly at that.
The image largely looks fine. It's often relatively crisp, with well defined details evident in many of the more agreeably lit scenes. The crispness does
degrade in lower light, and the image's source limitations become apparent when macroblocking and shallow black levels, in particular, create a more
roughhewn structure. There's a filmic grain layer, likely added in post, that is handsomely complimentary. Color saturation is fairly agreeable. There's
enough subtlety, nuance, and accuracy to get by, and the relatively
unkempt overall appearance at least compliments the movie's tone well enough. While this is not a traditional standout image, it does appear relatively
faithful to its source -- strengths and limitations alike -- and that's ultimately what should be the standard for a good Blu-ray image.
Unsane features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack (which is also the sole track included with the companion, day-and-date UHD release as well). The film's sonic needs are met with this configuration, and it's doubtful that a more expanded -- rearward (7.1) and/or upward (Atmos, DTS:X) -- track would have made any discernible difference. The opening shot offers a satisfyingly wide dispersal of natural ambient activity, followed by the film's title sequence which delivers firm piano keystrokes, quickly intermixing some positive low end bass effects and additional musical cues. End credits music is also well versed in stage saturation and clarity, too. The track plays with bursts of intensity breaking up the more naturally cadenced dialogue scenes, such as when Claire is drugged on her first night in the asylum, the scene defined by screaming, piercing elements harmoniously poking and protruding all over the stage. Later in chapter 10, a more disorienting, scratchy, unkempt, but effectively wild burst of intensity accompanies another scene in which she is drugged. Light ambient effects, such as buzzing fluorescent lights, help various scenes to more casually, but critically, absorb the listener into the location by delivering balanced, effective, immersive little bits. There appears to be a very slight lip sync issue, at times, though with the movie's structure it's hard to say if it's intentional or accidental. Dialogue is otherwise fine. It's a little tinny during a key conversation inside a padded room in chapter 15 but it's otherwise well positioned and prioritized, clear with no other distortions of note.
Unsane contains one featurette. Unsanity (1080p, 4:26) unconventionally explores the film in a brief behind-the-scenes piece. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase.
Unsane is a fairly unique experience, at least in sum. Never mind the manner by which it was shot, or the composition Soderbergh successfully employs to magnify the paranoia (real or imagined), but the film insightfully explores the toll that stress takes on the human condition, magnified when danger lurks in an inescapable place. It's a Horror film of a very unique variety, a Horror film in which the scares come not from physical violence but rather emotional toil and a truly inescapable boogeyman, or bogeymen, if one counts not only Sawyer's manifested fears but the hospital staff and regulations as well as her own degrading emotional state. The film lacks much surprise in its revelations and third act happenings, but it's otherwise an engrossing psychological study with an agreeable Soderbergh touch. Universal's Blu-ray is fine under the source constraints, though the UHD does actually offer a fair boost in visual quality. Only one extra is included; a more thorough supplemental package would have been a welcome addition. Recommended.
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