The Pursuit Of Happyness (Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture: B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras: B- Film: B
Poverty
is an ugly thing to suffer through no matter where you are. There is the myth that some people don’t know
they are poor, but when you are in a first-world country like The United
States, it can be especially difficult.
It is also a country that is supposed to offer the best chance for
success and the myths say it is easy if you just work for it. Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006) was one of last years best films
and did not get enough credit for its boldness.
Will
Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man in a problematic relationship with the mother
Linda (Thandie Newton) of his child (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) and trying
to provide for all. Unfortunately, they
both have to work and he has invested in medical devices that are supposed to
make him rich, but keep him poor and much worse as the relationship with Linda
disintegrates, he is determined to raise his son and make it.
He sees
opportunity possibly working for a major money firm, but has to battle against
everything from homelessness, starvation, robbery, pain and constant rejection
that has destroyed countless lives. The
portrayal of Chris Gardner by Smith is another step forward and up for the
actor, who never missed a beat in this painstaking story and harsher look at
reality than major studio films seem to be capable of these days. Steve Conrad’s screenplay never sells out or
softens the real life story.
So much
so in fact that audiences did not embrace its honesty and spirit as much as it
should have. Newton is good during her
screen time, Jaden Smith is taking after both parents at their best and the
portrayal of the rest of the characters in the film are smooth and
well-acted. Gardner turns out to have
some exceptional math skills, has imaginative ways of thinking, is inventive
and even has a knack for the then-new Rubik’s Cube.
All that
and he still goes through the ringer and then some. It proves that you can have all kinds of
talent and valuable skills to offer and be treated as disposable. This tale takes place in the later 1970s
roughly and in many ways, opportunity has become tougher than ever. That his son has to go through the nightmare
is all the sadder. It reminds us that we
have a long way to go to live up to the title, which is an ironic play on the
famous axiom about rights in America.
The anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on the standard DVD is not bad with consistent and
clean images, but it really takes the 1080p digital High Definition Blu-ray
version to bring out the smart cinematography by Phedon Papamichael, A.S.C.,
with hardly any digital degrading or tampering.
This is increasingly rare, but except for shooting with the slightest bit
of shade, this is one of the best looking films of the year on a technical
level and a logical candidate for Blu-ray.
Though it is not the best HD disc out there, it is one of the better
ones to date.
Though
this is a film on dialogue, personal experience and ideas, it has a good 5.1
sound design just the same that is very clean, clear and professional. Both discs have a decent Dolby Digital mix
with all of its limits and compression, but the PCM 5.1 exclusive to the
Blu-ray is much better, warmer and fuller.
Andrea Guerra’s score is easy to underrate.
Extras in
both versions include full length audio commentary by Muccino, Father and Son:
Onscreen and Off, The Man Behind the
Movie: A Conversation with Chris Gardner, Making Pursuit: An Italian Take on the American Dream, Inside the Rubik’s Cube and the
audio-only clip of “I Can” not used
in the film.
In one
last irony, the son is carrying around an action figure of Captain America of
all superheroes. It is missing its
shield and some other items, but it is on the complete side. Without reading too much into this and the
filmmakers only took it so far, but it has enough of a point taken. But most interesting of all, it was an 8” Mego
Captain America, which in complete form is going for hundreds of dollars. Though they would have had to wait too long,
if The Gardners could have invested in those toys, they’d have a fortune now
since the company went out of business by 1983 and often command the highest
prices around.
Sometimes,
it is just about the decisions you make.
- Nicholas Sheffo
