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The Movie:
 During the time
they spent working on The King is Alive, Kristian
Levring and Janet McTeer decided they wanted to write a film
together. The end result of that collaboration eventually became The
Intended - a film which seems, on the surface, to be a
period piece about a couple whose relationship drastically
changes when they flee the depression of post-war Europe to work
at an ivory trading post deep in the jungles of Malaysia. Upon
further inspection, however, The Intended ends up being
little more than a longer, more elaborate version of Indecent
Proposal set in a dense jungle accessible by boat only when
the river rises every six months.
Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. There are certainly some nuggets
of quality cinema to be found within the film. Kristian Levring
definitely has a knack for making the most mundane, ugly jungle
scene look oddly beautiful. His shots are mostly steady, as
opposed to the handheld technique he employed for his Dogme 95
film The King is Alive, and the dark colors of the
film's palette give it a very painterly feel. The fact that The
Intended is mostly nice to look at helps make it more
interesting. If it weren't for his knack for composition and use
of color, Levring's film would be an incredibly dreary one about
a couple essentially stuck in a deep jungle with a bunch of
strange people.
 What helps The
Intended rise out of the doldrums, however, are the fine
performances all the way around. Co-Writer (and star of the film)
Janet McTeer brings a certain depth to the character of Sarah
that may have been lost on an actress not as closely familiar
with the script. McTeer knows this woman in every way imaginable,
which allows her to bring a great mixture of strength and
vulnerability to the performance. Sarah is an incredibly strong,
independent woman that will do just about anything to help her
young love, Hamish, but it's strikingly clear that she is
absolutely tortured by her decisions. McTeer's performance is
easily the highlight of the film.
 The supporting
cast also manages to pull their weight throughout the film. J.J.
Field does some of his best work as Sarah's lover, Hamish, and
Brenda Fricker and Tony Maudsley also provide some fine
performances. Olympia Dukakis plays one of the oddest characters
of her career and brings a real sense of caring to the role. She
grounds her character more in reality than most actresses
probably would have, and makes the character appear to be an
woman with some misguided affection, rather than a weirdo shaman.
The Intended, unfortunately, just misses the mark too
often for it to be really enjoyable. One of the most interesting
aspects of the film - the rising and falling of the river that
provides the only way on or off the trading post station - really
acts more as a mechanism to trap the couple in the jungle rather
than something that could have made for some very interesting
scenes. When the boats leaves for the first time, Levring simply
dissolves to a shot of the river suddenly dry. It would have been
great to see the attitudes around the trading post as the river
started to dry up. Instead of just showing us that Sarah and
Hamish are there to stay, it would have been nice to be able to
see their fear and intimidation in a place they know little about
when their last chance of leaving dries up. I understand that
Levring is making a film about Sarah and Hamish, not the weather
patterns of a Malaysian jungle, but those types of touches could
have had a lasting effect on the viewer.
 Aside from
these missed opportunities, Levring simply takes too long to get
the real crux of his story going. When Sarah and Hamish arrive at
the trading post, Levring takes way too much time getting to
their story. He meanders around to the various subplots and
secondary characters while nearly losing the heart of his film. The
Intended, nonetheless, still manages to hold your interest,
if only to see where McTeer will take her performance, and to
watch Jen Schlosser's often-gorgeous cinematography.
The DVD
Video:
 The Intended
is presented in a 1.33:1 full frame format that has its fair
share of problems. The digital video transfer is often a bit on
the dark side and lacking in detail. The film's stylized color
palette does manage to come across nicely, but there is a large
amount of graininess present in the image throughout the film.
Edge enhancement also makes its presence known and, while there
are no signs of any other digital artifacts, there is a
noticeable layer change. Shadows and lighting are fairly well
delineated, but the overall murkiness of the transfer takes away
from what is, otherwise, a very nice looking film.
Sound:
 The audio on
this disc is presented in a Dolby 2.0 stereo format that, like
the video transfer, has a few issues. Dialogue is almost always
clear, crisp, and distinct, but does tend to drop in volume from
time to time. Despite this somewhat annoying occurrence, the
dialogue is, however, always discernable. The track is fairly
well balanced throughout, although there is some occasional level
fluctuation and even a few high-pitched peaks. The Intended
is mostly dialogue-driven, so there aren't exactly many chances
for the sound effects to shine, but when the rain begins to fall
near the conclusion of the film, the track does manage to provide
a little thrill. Pumped through Dolby Pro Logic II encoding even
allowed the track to show off a few surround effects during this
sequence. The track, nonetheless, is adequate enough for this
type of film.
Extras:
 The main extra
feature included on this disc is approximately 27-minutes worth
of cast and crew interviews. The eight separate
interviews feature Olympia Dukakis, Janet McTeer, Kristian
Levring, J.J. Field, Brenda Fricker, Tony Maudsley, Philip
Jackson, and Robert Pugh. Each interview must be accessed
separately and, although they are often pretty engaging and
insightful, the editing of the interviews really makes for a
distracting experience. Instead of allowing the subjects to speak
all the way through, the editors choose to show title cards
before each tiny segment of each interview. This method,
unfortunately, never allows the interviews to gain any momentum
or flow, and ultimately acts only to take the viewer out of the
segment. It is distracting and really takes away from what are,
otherwise, some pretty decent interviews.
Also included on this disc are the film's theatrical
trailer, and a text biography for
Co-Writer/Director Kristian Levring.
Final Thoughts:
 I might have
been a bit rough when I called The Intended a longer,
more elaborate version of Indecent Proposal. While that
obvious plot manipulation is there near the conclusion of the
film, the character that makes the proposal is somewhat
unexpected. Ultimately, the film is a bit too long, meanders a
little too much at times, and misses the mark when it could have
provided something really interesting. Fans of Levring's work,
nevertheless, will want to give the disc a spin. Much different
from his Dogme 95 project, The King is Alive, this film
still shows the promise of a director with a lot of potential.
While the audio-visual presentation isn't exactly top notch, and
the extra material is only adequate, I'd still recommended at
least a rental, if for nothing more than to watch Janet McTeer at
her best. |
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