American
Pastoral (2016/Lionsgate Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: B/C+ Extras: B Film: C+
Ewan
McGregor has always been one of my favorite actors and here he gets
in the director's chair for his feature film debut for the bizarre
hit-and-miss drama American Pastoral (2016), which is based on
the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel of the same name.
My
interest in the film came from it being filmed near Pittsburgh a few
years ago and I was eager to see if I could spot any of the
locations, lnowing the area personally. From a production
standpoint, the film is pretty impressive, as it completely sells as
a period piece with great cinematography, old cars, and period
appropriate costumes. The cast is solid as well with McGregor,
Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning in lead roles. The problems
with the film lie in the script, which has some plot points that seem
to be missing a scene or two connect them and a quick and lackluster
ending that left me disappointed.
The
film stars with a high school reunion where we learn about Swede
(McGregor) a man who seemingly had it all in his youth. He had a
gorgeous wife Dawn (Connelly), was a school athlete with many medals
in the trophy case, and was becoming the heir of a successful glove
making business under his father. When Dawn and Swede have a
daughter named Mary (Fanning) who ends up having a speech impediment,
she grows up to be very political in the current Post War state of
America and becomes involved by friends in New York to become a part
of several protests. Butting heads with Dawn in her teen years, Mary
one day goes missing after a Government Post Office is bombed with
the police pointing fingers at Dawn as the culprit, virtually ruining
the lives of Swede and Mary. When Swede gets a lead as to where his
daughter may be in hiding, he discovers a horrific truth about her
current state. American Pastoral also stars Peter Regert, Uzo
Aduba, Molly Parker, and Rupert Evans.
I'm
surprised this film isn't getting any Oscar buzz for acting as the
performances are all very strong here. I feel like Dakota Fanning is
kind of looming in the shadows of her sister, Elle Fanning, now that
she found success with Neon Demon and other pictures. This
film proves that Dakota is still a strong actress as she sells the
impediment and her chemistry with McGregor onscreen is effective. I
wasn't quite sure what to expect from the film from its marketing but
all in all, the translation from page to screen is where the film
suffers the most, as other areas are strong.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1,
the transfer here is gorgeous with a highly cinematic look and high
contrast as an overarching color style throughout, trying to look
like Edward Potter paintings (Herbert Ross' deconstructive musical
Pennies From Heaven (1981) with Steve Martin & Bernadette
Peters did as well). The sound mix is an English DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) lossless 5.1 track that sounds clean and clear throughout with
little complaints. A digital UV copy is also included as well as
DVD not credited on the package for some reason that is not bad for
the format.
Special
Features...
Audio
Commentary by Ewan McGregor
"American
Pastoral: Adapting an American Classic" Featurette
"Making
the American Dream" Featurette
Worth
a watch for filmmaking and performances alone, American Pastoral
seems like it needed a couple more drafts of the script before the
production started. Still, as a first time director, Ewan McGregor
didn't do half bad.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
