Night Train (2009/NEM/E1 Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B-/C Sound: B-/C+ Extras: C Film: B-
Mysteries
are as little seen as Musicals were as Music Video seemed to make them seem old
hat starting in the mid-1980s. M. Brian
King has proven himself able to write a competent genre screenplay, as he did
for Vincenzo (Cube, Paris, je T’aime) Natali’s Cypher (2002, reviewed elsewhere on
this site) a few years ago and makes his directing debut with Night Train (2009), a mystery thriller
he wrote as well. At first, I was
expecting only so much, though the cast includes Danny Glover as the train
conductor plus Steve Zahn and Leelee Sobieski as passengers and strangers who
suddenly get to know each other under unusual circumstances.
At issue
is a solid old-looking wooden box that seems to hide some kind of jewelry
treasure inside that a last-minute-on-the-train passenger has brought on. He seems to be very nervous and even being
followed. When (SPOILER) he dies, the
box lands up in the possession of the trio and they have no idea what is going
on or who might be up to no good. What
is so important? They don’t know, but
with death, pursuit and the objects unusual nature, they intend to hold onto it
and sell it… if they live long enough to do so.
Though some
of this may seem familiar (the box idea comes from the Film Noir classic Kiss Me Deadly, later redone in Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Pulp Fiction) and there are some
conventions of genre here, but the big surprise is how good the acting and
directing are, the editing is decent and the film is even competent enough to
be suspenseful. I can see why the leads
signed up and it is a great move on their part as this is bound to be
discovered on Blu-ray and DVD. Sobieski
has not been this good since Eyes Wide
Shut and Glover can look at this as another clever turn like the one in Be Kind Rewind or Dreamgirls. Zahn is still on
the rise as a great actor and I was glad to see him land this after being so
wasted in the National Treasure
films.
Shot on
sets in Bulgaria, the film features an old-style train and since they did not
have the budget Peter Hyams had for his underrated remake of Narrow Margin (1990, also reviewed on
this site), they had to render the traveling in CGI digital. It may look like it is a few generations
behind the train in Polar Express,
yet it actually works to this film’s advantage by conjuring up the feel of the
very 1930s detective films (including that of series like Charlie Chan) that
even this is adds to the whole experience.
If you like
Mysteries and think the comic British TV ones are good, yet you want to see
other kinds, Night Train is worth
going out of your way for. Sure, it has
some problems, but it works far more often than not and that an independent
production like this outdid a few hundred overproduced Hollywood A-movies on
the same subject is a great thing to see.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 image on the Blu-ray is offered is a little softer than expected,
maybe in an attempt to be stylish, but this 35mm shot production should still
be a bit clearer and sharper throughout than it is. The CGI is not bad, but all looks much softer
on the anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 DVD, though it is not a flaw in the
transfer or format we can find. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on the Blu-ray is better than the
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in both formats and the DVD adds a Dolby 2.0 Stereo for
simpler playback that is the weakest of the choices.
The
surrounds do kick in at times, but this is dialogue-based and in all mixes
seems to be a bit lower in volume than I would have liked it to be. The DTS is the easy sonic champ, but King may
have been going for sound like a 1930s film.
Good thing he did not go too monophonic, or it could have been like
watching Pennies From
Heaven. The combination is good, but
slightly lacking at its best on Blu-ray and takes some minor adjusting. At least it is not harsh or shrill to its
benefit.
Extras in
both formats include trailer, photo gallery and a making of featurette, all of
which should be enjoyed after you see
the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
