Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Women in Trouble Blu-ray Movie Review

Boring, amateur, and cliched, Women in Trouble demonstrates how an interesting concept can quickly turn sour.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner February 20, 2010

Combining a recognizable cast with a story that seemed rather intriguing, Women in Trouble had all the makings for breakthrough indie success. After all, given the increasing popularity of director Pedro Almodovar’s body of work (often centered on strong female characters), it seemed a natural progression to find new directors willing to carry on his legacy. Unfortunately, the one element of Women in Trouble that didn’t strike me until it was too late was the realization that the writer/director of this indie feature is the same man that brought us the screenplay for Snakes on a Plane, The Eye, and Rise: Blood Hunter. Every up-and-coming writer/director has to start somewhere, so I should make it abundantly clear that I waited to look up his prior work until after Women in Trouble had concluded. However, now that I’ve witnessed the latest writing effort of Sabastian Gutierrez, I can’t genuinely say this ranked toward the bottom of his shallow body of work.

Anyone care to guess why a nun and a cowgirl are locked up together?

Set in the sweltering summer heat of Los Angeles, the film presents ten women from vastly different backgrounds, who work in a variety of occupations (flight attendant, bartender, psychiatrist, masseuse, porn star, and call girl). Over the course of one 24-hour period, the lives of these ten women intersect in a seemingly profound way, affording each character the opportunity to search deep within and open up to one another in a manner they never thought possible. No matter how brief the encounters may be, each woman is destined to come away with a new outlook on life, or the beginnings of a lasting friendship with an unlikely kindred spirit.

If that synopsis seemed short, you’re on the right track in understanding the ultimate flaw in the film. Bottom line—it never really goes anywhere. As the film first opened on the set of a porn feature, I assumed we’d be rewarded with an edgy portrayal of women from all walks of life, and the day-to-day struggles they endure. This tone is maintained throughout the first 20 minutes or so, as we witness a racy discussion between two call girls, and the emotional breakdown of a psychiatrist realizing her best friend and husband are having an affair. This setup is almost flawless, yet even within the discussion between the prostitutes we begin to notice the dialog slipping. As the film plays out, the problem becomes more and more pronounced, with one lengthy monologue after another. Anytime two women meet (in the most unlikely situations), we immediately know someone’s about to spill their guts regarding something tragic from their past. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t feel so poorly executed, but the forced nature of Gutierrez script eventually becomes downright laughable.

Adding to the problematic nature of the film, I quickly grew bored with the connections in the plot. Whenever you watch a film with intersecting storylines (a growing trend in Hollywood that’s already threatening to become a cliché) you want there to be legitimate reasoning behind the convergence of seemingly unrelated paths. Simply tossing out “the sister of so-and-so” or “the girlfriend of this rock star” steals some of the thunder, and generates a sneaking suspicion that Gutierrez came up with ten monologues and tried to connect them into a story only as an afterthought.

I don’t typically enjoy films that attempt to be edgy merely for the sake of shocking the audience, and this is no exception. It’s one thing to incorporate racy discussions of sex, promiscuity, or hardship if you intend to use those as key elements of the plot, but in the case of Women in Trouble, it felt more like a strategic way to compensate for weaknesses in the script. Some directors nail the indie vibe, and others merely mimic it. In the case of Sabastian Gutierrez the classification is obvious.

At this point, I could probably leave the rest to your imagination, but I feel compelled to briefly address the production values of the film. Having witnessed the prior directorial outing by Guitierrez (Rise: Blood Hunter), I know he’s capable of effectively staging a scene, and creating something that feels polished. Women in Trouble is a noticeable step backwards for him, as if he set out to convey an amateur style. The sound editing is choppy, the photography is often out of focus, and the staging/camera placement lacks any sense of creativity. I’ve seen better artistic design in made-for-television films on the Lifetime channel than I witnessed here (not that I watch Lifetime on a regular basis…), and that’s a bit disappointing.

Women in Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), Women in Trouble sports a fairly dismal visual presentation. Fine object detail ranks well below the level we've grown accustomed to on Blu-ray, with a large number of shots appearing only slightly better than the quality of an up-scaled DVD. Even in extreme facial close-ups, the texturing on the surface of skin is completely lacking, as if covered by a veil of haze. Colors don't fare much better, incorporating a palette that rarely transcends the drab hues of various indoor settings. Skin tones vary from overly red to sickly yellow, affording the spectrum an unnatural palette that never appears enticing. Regarding black level depth, the transfer remains entirely inconsistent from scene to scene, leaving contrast unable to effectively differentiate between subtle shade transitions in the foreground and background.

Despite the appearance of several well-defined shots, the majority of the film is a visual disappointment in every category. Go in with low expectations, and you'll find it much easier to stomach.

Women in Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Despite the upgrade to lossless compression, Women in Trouble remains incapable of transcending its low budget roots. Dialogue is the driving force behind the mix, resulting in shallow use of the rear sound stage, and planting the majority of the audio spectrum within the confines of the front channels. Given the nature of the film this wouldn't be a major problem, but inconsistent volume levels coupled with muddled line delivery present further problems. Listening to the women deliver their monologues on various issues in their tragic past becomes rather difficult when you're forced to constantly adjust the volume on your receiver. To make the situation worse, director Sabastian Gutierrez tosses in several outrageously loud flashback sequences that deliver loud noises with a blur of images. After turning up the volume to a point where I could understand 99% of the dialog, I found those sudden flashbacks shockingly loud. All of these issues where likely present in the original theatrical presentation (given the low-budget photography and cheap sound design), but they don't make for a rousing improvement in the transition to a lossless offering.

Women in Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Behind the Scenes with Holly Rocket and Elektra Luxx (1080p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:48 min): This brief comedy routine is intended as a promo for the film.

Pool Teaser Trailer (720p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:06 min): The main actresses from the film appear in a sexy promo wearing lingerie.

Pool Teaser Trailer (720p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:06 min): The main actresses from the film appear in a sexy promo wearing lingerie.

Deleted Scenes (1080i, Dolby Digital 2.0): One segment of the film features various actors portraying outrageous characters in therapy sessions. The collection of deleted scenes included on the disc presents five extended scenes from those "Therapy Monologues".

Women in Trouble Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Women in Trouble is an exercise in patience that I find impossible to recommend. All of the pieces are in place for an enticing slice of female empowerment, but the sloppy script and amateur production values quickly suck the life out of the interesting setup. From what I've heard, Gutierrez intends to make a second and third film in the series, but unless he's able to hit the notes that make Almodovar (Volver) such a talented director, I'd suggest he go back to writing mindless scripts and directing straight-to-video action films.