To Rome
With Love (2012/Woody Allen/Sony
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
Woody
Allen continues to be the big survivor of all the 1970s Auteurs making his
films his way and getting pretty much any big name actor he wants because
anyone serious about film and acting wants to work with him. Continuing his absence from working in New York City since his budgets cannot accommodate the
expense, we are taken to Italy
for his latest comedy, To Rome With Love
(2012) which attempts multiple storylines with a Fellini-like twist.
Not that
they all work, but the film is also bi-lingual.
Allen and Judy Davis are the parents of a daughter who has fallen for an
Italian man who is also a communist, but they fly in to meet him and his family
with wacky results. Allen’s character
used to work in the music business and cannot believe his son-in-law-to-be’s
father can sing opera so well, but there is a catch: he is only good when in
the shower.
Penelope
Cruz lands up in the middle of another potential marriage showing up to have
paid sex with the groom-to-be, but his family shows up unexpectedly and he
starts passing her off as the bride.
Alec Baldwin is a visiting architect who meets a younger aspiring one
played by Jesse Eisenberg, who suddenly has the elder giving him advice about
love when he and his female friend (Great Gerwig) are visited by her friend (a
miscast Ellen Page) and he starts maybe falling for her. Roberto Benigni is a regular middle class
working guy who suddenly becomes a movie star by mistaken identity. And Rome
itself is a character, looking good and featured prominently throughout.
Unfortunately,
Allen juggles more than he should, the Eisenberg and Benigni storylines are
weaker than the rest and yes it is a comedy, but more of this is more
improbable than usual, even for Allen.
But he is trying to do more of the circus atmosphere of a Fellini film
while still being himself, something the late Robert Altman was more successful
at doing in his fashion world deconstruction Ready To Wear (aka Prêt-A-Porter)
with plenty of Italian references of its own despite taking place in Paris,
where Allen has also been shooting a few films of late.
The
result are some laughs, some amusing moments and some good jokes, but just not
as well rounded an effort as I had hoped for.
This just plays a bit lopsided despite the likable talent (also
including several Italian actors you likely never heard of) and is at least
worth a look. I just wanted it to work
better,
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is a little soft on the detail
and color can be a tad odd at times, but Director of Photography Darius
Khondji, A.S.C., A.F.C., reunites with Allen, but is still most likely known
for his work on films like David Fincher’s Se7en
and Alien Resurrection among his
many works with Jean Pierre-Jeunet, but this proves once again that he is a
superior cameraman not stuck in one genre and we get a unique visual density
throughout.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is a surprise since Allen continues
to want to make all of his films practically monophonic, but the mix is still towards
the front speakers and dialogue in the center channel, yet this has more of a
soundfield than almost any Allen film ever made and the music score is a plus.
Extras include
two featurettes on the making of the picture that last over 20 minutes each and
we also get the Original Theatrical Trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
