We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 16, 2014

There’s a beautiful sophistication and emotional starkness to 1972’s “We Won’t Grow Old Together” to help support the screenplay’s insistence that the viewer spend 106 minutes with emotionally stunted characters. An autobiographical story from writer/director Maurice Pialat, the film is rich with life and frustration, working to capture the experience of a volatile relationship without trying to cure its ills. It’s intelligent, measured work from the helmer (who adapts his own novel for the screen), easing entrance into a particularly toxic pairing.

“We Won’t Grown Old Together” is securely directed and edited with enigmatic moves in mind, and its craftsmanship and patience is rewarded with an understanding of the lead characters. However, the performances are what truly grip the viewer, with stars Jean Yanne and Marlene Jobert brilliantly registering the illness of the central relationship and its magnetic pull. They are exquisite, isolating every last twitch of pain and confusion, while supporting work is equally vivid, with Macha Meril creating a vivid portrait of a woman left behind.

We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.66:1 aspect ratio) presentation is quite pleasing to the eye, with a firm grip on colors, leaving hues healthy and expressive, while skintones are natural, losing little to fade. Print is in fine shape, without overt damage. It's a refreshed look at the 1972 effort, with comfortable detail on costuming and facial reactions (the feature's primary weapon), and crispness preserves depth. Black levels are supportive, though a little delineation is lost in darker encounters.

We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix captures the cinematic basics, while dramatic pauses aren't crowded with excessive hiss. Highs presented here do sound a little crispy, with emotional extremes thin and the picture's rare use of music coming off aged, but the dramatic essentials of the performances are crisp, leaving interactions easy to follow. Atmospherics with city life and beach visits hold their activity, but this track is primarily about the actors and their volatile emotions.

We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Video Appreciation (3:46, HD) by filmmaker Alex Ross Perry is an audio-only overview (more of a review) of "We Won't Grow Old Together," with the helmer sharing his appreciation for Pialat's technique and damning those who dare to dismiss the feature without an exhaustive appreciation of its interpretational storytelling methods.

• Interview (19:58, SD) with Marlene Jobert discusses her career and life up to the point of her participation in "We Won't Grow Old Together," eventually sharing her memories of the film shoot and analysis of the effort's emotional complexity.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:54, HD) is included.

We Won't Grow Old Together Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"We Won't Grow Old Together" can be strong stuff, with moments of violence between the main characters registering as intended, challenging the viewer to comprehend the psychological structure of the participants and their cruel determination to remain in the same orbit. It seems chaotic, yet Pialat manages total comprehension, creating a space for the performers to find nuance and articulate this collision of temperaments without slipping into a melodramatic mess.