Peacock
(2010/Lionsgate DVD)
Picture: C Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C
Cillian
Murphy is one of the most underrated actors around and I am especially glad he
has found fame as The Scarecrow in the new cycle of Christopher Nolan Batman films, but he was always
good. In films as diverse as Disco Pigs, 28 Days Later… and the underrated Sunshine, he has yet to peak.
In Michael Lander’s Peacock (2010), he plays John Skillpa, who works at
the bank and has a wife in Emma, who is a soft-spoken keeper of their
home. One day, a train wrecks in their
back yard and it threatens their home and to expose a huge secret.
The title
refers to the town all the characters live in, but it seems to have a deeper
meaning and the film wants to be sly about this. It is a risk-taking film that wants to be a
character study and has some good moments, but it juggles too much and never
resolves most of what it takes on.
However, it has a great supporting cast including Susan Sarandon, John
Lucas, Keith Carradine, Bill Pullman and even the repetitious, problematic
Ellen Page is good for what this non-fan considers her best work to date.
We also
get a film that wants to be a thriller of sorts, but tries not to be and that
does not help it any. However, though I
was not happy in the end (even with the alternate conclusion in the extras), I
liked the ambition and boldness of the whole project and it is bound to be a
curio people will talk about just the same.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in Super 35mm by Philippe
Rousselot, A.F.C., A.S.C., whose work here is decent as usual, but the transfer
is far too soft considering it is his work and we suspect this looked much
better on film or would on Blu-ray. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is well recorded, articulate and offers a nice soundfield,
making it the surprise of the disc. Bet
this would be nice in a lossless audio format.
Extras
include Murphy rehearsing for the film, a copy of the script accessible via
DVD-ROM download, Alternate Ending, four Deleted Scenes and “Welcome To Peacock” making-of
featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
