Perceptions (2005/First Run Features DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Feature: C

 

 

A young lady tells her mother she is pregnant with an alien.  Her mother complains about illegal immigrants, but her daughter means extra-terrestrials and they have an uneasy relationship in Irving Schwartz’s Perceptions (2005) featuring Piper Perabo looking like a clone of Gwen Stefani.  They should not expect a cease & desist order, but we should have expected a better script.

 

Jen (Perabo) is emotionally keyed up and comes back to her hometown of New York City after spending time in Los Angeles.  She is off putting, but has some friends and more than a few have their troubles.  Can she reintegrate into the home she left behind, or is more lost than she could have ever imagined?

 

It is obvious her character may have some kind of mental issues the script does not specify, meaning it does not have to take as much responsibility for them and gives the given lead actor an excuse to go wild without holding back as if the character has an excuse to do so.  This is always a backhanded swipe against the mentally ill.

 

However, this project (shot on video) just never works, despite some of the things it shows that are not pretty (like someone a victim of high-risk behavior) that you would never see in a mainstream film.  Perabo is a good actress, but cannot carry a film with a mixed script and problematic directing.  Mary Beth Hurt, Kate Mulgrew and an oddly out of his element Seth Meyers also star.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad, shot on video as noted and offering a mix of good and bad shot choices.  Editing can be awkward and moist shots are not very compelling.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is fairly good, but too flat and loud for its own good.  The meager extras are stills and a trailer.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo