Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright) have been inseparable from a young age, growing up in a quaint coastal Australian community. When Lil’s husband passes away, the two grow even closer, and their two young boys, Ian and Tom, develop a similar close relationship. Roz’s husband takes a job in Sydney, and with him away, the quartet starts to spend even more time together going to the beach, eating dinner, and drinking heavily with each other. After a night of partying, Ian (Lil’s son) professes his secret love for Roz, she succumbs to his advances, and they wind up sleeping together. Unbeknownst to either of them, Tom spies his mom leaving Ian’s room and decides two can play that game and makes a move on Lil. This opens up Pandora’s box, and the lines between family, friendship, and morality all become blurred.

Based on the book The Grandmothers by Doris Lessing, screenplay writer Christopher Hampton and director Anne Fontaine take what could have easily become a cheesy soft porn setup and explore the psychological effects that these bizarre relationships have on not only the guilty, but also on the innocent bystanders that come into play during the third act of the film.

The video encode is a mixed bag due to some wavering brightness issues in some of the darker scenes. Fortunately, the majority of the film takes place in brightly lit exteriors on the beach, which could be used by the Australian Visitors Bureau to get you to trek halfway around the world—they are simply beautiful. Colors are naturally balanced throughout, and fleshtones have revealing detail, showing off the beauty of Watts and Wright. The dialogue-heavy audio track has intelligible audio, an engaging score, and the occasional surround envelopment, especially with the waves crashing in the background.

If you’re a fan of supplements, you’re out of luck, since the only extra is an Ultra- Violet Digital Copy.

My wife and I actually found ourselves beset with uncomfortable laughter on many occasions, especially when the couples were first hooking up. All we could think about were our kids’ friends, who we’ve seen grow up since they were babies—and in no way, shape, or form could we ever imagine anything like this occurring. Granted, we don’t live in the twisted environment of Hollywood! While not a great film, it does make for good discussion afterwards, and Fontaine portrays an icky moral dilemma with distinction and a semblance of class.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Paramount, 2013
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 111 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright