6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
When they are lured into what is supposed to be just another quick and easy job, Violet and Daisy's plum plans get complicated as the man they're supposed to kill is not what they expected.
Starring: Alexis Bledel, Saoirse Ronan, James Gandolfini, Danny Trejo, Cody HornThriller | Insignificant |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Hanna offered Saoirse Ronan as a single minded killing machine, in a film which only slightly masked its fairy tale ambience. Ronan is back as yet another professional assassin in Violet & Daisy, and the film once again has a certain playfully childlike quality, but the tone of this film is resolutely different than Ronan’s earlier effort. Violet & Daisy marks the first directorial effort by Oscar winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher, who burst into mainstream prominence by adapting Precious for the screen. It’s probably too facile to accuse Fletcher of foisting a different kind of preciousness off on the audience in Violet & Daisy, but there’s no denying this film has a certain twee quality. And considering its heroines’ level of general naïvete, some cynics might be tempted to pun horribly and say the film really might have been better titled Twee-dledum and Twee-dledee. (Some of you are probably scouring the Yellow Pages for a professional hitman to take me out right now. I fully understand.) Violet & Daisy has some fun elements, but it’s a film that is weirdly meandering and tonally uncertain of itself. Is this supposed to be a satire? A Tarantino-esque journey through the twisted and monologue filled lives of people who ironically just happen to kill for a living? Or is it merely a fable, a gussied up piece of folklore that invites us into a magical-realist world where nothing is at is seems, therefore nothing really matters very much. Violet & Daisy is highlighted by some impressive performances, and it also offers one of the final appearances by James Gandolfini before his untimely passing a few months ago, a fact that will no doubt invite some curious onlookers who would probably not otherwise give this film a second glance.
Violet & Daisy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. According to the IMDb, Violet & Daisy was filmed with the Arricam LT, a compact camera which allows for more flexible setups than more typically bulky outfits, and that certainly seems to be borne out by some of the extremely up close and personal shots Fletcher and his DP Vanja Cernjul get throughout the film. These shots reveal really impeccable levels of fine detail, whether they be the small pock marks in part of Gandolfini's face, or the tiny needlework in the nuns' cowls. Colors are accurate and nicely saturated (the film has not been aggressively color timed, a rather refreshing change of pace). Especially impressive are the cool blue eyes of the protagonists (see screenshot 2 for a great example), as well as the beautifully sun dappled exteriors around Manhattan. (One final scene appears to play out in front of rear projection, which has a curiously—and perhaps intentionally—fake quality to it.) The elements have no damage whatsoever and the image remains clear and stable throughout, with no compression artifacts of any note.
Violet & Daisy's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 springs to life rather nicely during the film's use of some nice source cues, but otherwise this is largely a dialogue driven affair that keeps almost all of the sonic activity in the front channels. The opening sequence with its bursts of gunfire is a notable exception, as are a couple of similar other moments later in the film. Fidelity is excellent and the mix is extremely well prioritized.
Violet & Daisy certainly deserves an A for Ambition, but it might also deserve a D for being a bit too Daffy for its own good. Fletcher could have coasted on his Precious Oscar win, and so kudos are in order that he decided to take a chance. But that still doesn't excuse some of Violet & Daisy's excesses, especially when there's not enough of an emotional hook to balance the whimsy. Ronan and Gandolfini are excellent, however, and the film is unusual enough that those who are sick to death of cookie cutter entertainments may well want to check this out just for its odd factor alone. While there's very little supplemental material here, the Blu-ray's technical merits are first rate and this disc comes Recommended.
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