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The Movie:
 There's
an old saying that goes: "When you assume, you make
an…" Well, I probably don't need to tell you the rest.
That saying, however, couldn't be more important than it is in
Mike Binder's The Upside of Anger. Assumptions, whether
we often realize it or not, are really good for nothing. They're
usually not based on any type of factual information and they
usually result in anger, sadness, or some type of despair. They
are, basically, a great waste of time and energy. And in the case
of Binder's film, they are what fuel the anger and resentment in
an entire family.
Binder's film tells the story of a suburban housewife, played by
Joan Allen, whose husband mysteriously disappears. She assumes
that he's run off with his Swedish secretary while she's left to
take care of their four girls (played beautifully by Erika
Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, and Alicia Witt) and
pick up the pieces of their lives. Fueled by her husband's
disappearance, she gets about as angry and resentful as you're
ever going to see a woman on film. She strikes up a friendship
with an aging former baseball star turned local radio DJ, and
tries to make sure her girls go off to college and, maybe more
importantly, ensure that they hate their father.
 Sounds
about ripe for your typical family melodrama, right? What makes The
Upside of Anger much more than that are the capable hands of
Writer/Director Mike Binder. In the hands of a lesser director,
this film could easily derail into morbid despair or familial
clichés. Binder's script, however, is so incredibly tight and
realistic that The Upside of Anger feels more like a
walk through the life of a struggling family than the film
version of a cheesy soap opera. Everything about this film feels
authentic and realistic. You'd swear you've had these exact
conversations before with your own family. You've seen
people act just like this, and you've overheard arguments exactly
like this. It's a real testament to Binder's writing ability and
his smooth directorial hands. Even the stranger characters (the
strangest of all being Shep, who Binder chooses to play himself)
seem grounded in reality. It's a beautiful thing to watch, and it
makes you feel so much more for these characters.
 The
other thing that set's Binder's film apart from your typical
familiar drama is his excellent cast. For those few filmgoers and
critics who weren't quite convinced that Joan Allen is one of the
best actresses working today, The Upside of Anger should
do a good job of tipping the scales for them. Her work has always
been consistently good, but this film is the one that will cement
her place as one of Hollywood's most talented actors. Her bravura
performance here is what makes The Upside of Anger one
of the best films of 2005 so far, and what will hopefully earn
her a nomination come Oscar® time. Her character's range of
emotions and ability to turn on a dime are what really showcase
her enormous talent. She is an absolute powerhouse and really
controls the entire film, appearing in just about every scene.
And for those people who thought Kevin Costner was all washed up,
The Upside of Anger should do a nice job of reminding
why people fell in love with him in the first place. Playing a
character very similar to his role in Bull Durham - an
aging baseball player who loves a few drinks - doesn't seem to
faze him as he brings an entirely nuanced performance and seems
to hit all the right notes. He's laid back and quiet here.
There's nothing really showy or boisterous about his character in
The Upside of Anger, but when it's time to turn up the
anger a notch, Costner knows exactly how to make the transition.
Sure, he's had a few really bad missteps along the way (Waterworld,
of course, being one of several big mistakes), but his work in
this film puts Costner firmly back on the map. Open Range
may have proved that he wasn't totally finished, but The
Upside of Anger proves that he is, without a doubt, back in
a big way.
 The
only thing that keeps the film from being a near-perfect mix of
comedy and drama is a slightly unnecessary plot twist near the
end of the film. If you're concerned about the film being spoiled
for you, don't worry. I knew there would be a twist before the
film even started and, I'll be completely honest, The Upside
of Anger is so good at what it does for the first
three-quarters that I totally forgot there would be a twist at
all. It's just that engrossing. The twist, however, does
seem somewhat unnecessary in retrospect. I understand what Binder
tries to do with it and I understand his motivations, but the
film could work just as well without the twist and, in the end,
it seems glossed over and forgettable. This is, nonetheless, a
minor quibble. I found The Upside of Anger to be an
incredibly well made, entertaining film about what happens when
we assume and what the resulting anger actually does to us as
human beings with families and feelings. An outstanding cast, a
tight, well-written story, and a very capable Writer/Director
make The Upside of Anger one of the year's best films so
far.
The DVD
Video:
 The
Upside of Anger is presented in an anamorphic 2.35:1
widescreen format that looks excellent despite appearing a bit
flat at times. Detail is actually quite good throughout the film,
so that slight flatness in the image at times may be more a
result of the intended suburban look of the film than an issue
with this transfer. Fleshtones are accurate and color saturation
is spot on. Season changes have a highly stylized look in the
film and each season's colors shine brightly and vividly. The
hazy, blueness of the winter scenes are a particularly beautiful
aspect of this transfer. Edge enhancement, and other digital
artifacts, never appear to be an issue, but there is a small
amount of grain visible from time to time. Lighting and shadows
are well delineated, and black levels are deep and rich. Aside
from the negligible flatness of the image and the slight amount
of grain present, this is a superb transfer that ranks up there
with some of New Line's best.
Sound:
 The
audio on this disc is offered in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and
Dolby Digital 2.0 formats that each sound just fine. The
Upside of Anger doesn't exactly have a very dynamic
soundtrack, but Alexandre Desplat's score comes across
beautifully on this track. My track of choice is the DTS 5.1 mix
for a slightly fuller feel and a bit more ambience, but the
differences between it and the Dolby Digital 5.1 track are barely
noticeable. All tracks, however, are well balanced and provide
plenty of intricate subtlety to Desplat's score. There's not much
surround action to be found in this soundtrack, but the rear
channels do give the score a bit more power and help to provide a
nicely enveloping soundstage. The one major issue I found with
the audio presentation on this disc are the volume levels.
Dialogue, while always discernable, is much too low at times. For
a dialogue-heavy film like The Upside of Anger, low
volume levels (and slight level fluctuation) can be a frustrating
thing to combat. Fortunately, the problem never becomes
overwhelming and the tracks still manage to provide an adequate
aural experience.
Extras:
While this disc is not considered one of New Line's Platinum
Series releases, there are still a few noteworthy extra features
included. The first of which is a commentary track with
Writer/Director Mike Binder and Actor Joan Allen. Former
film critic (and current filmmaker) Rod Lurie moderates the
track. In addition to being the Director of The Contender
and Deterrence, Lurie is also Binder's close friend, and
their friendship lends to the breezy feel of the commentary. Joan
Allen is the quietest of the three throughout, but she still
manages to drop in some excellent tidbits about the shoot and the
process of creating her character. Lurie is an excellent host as
he steers the conversation nicely from anecdotes from the set to
more specific analysis of the film and even to some of Binder's
major influences. Binder is open and honest about what he likes
and dislikes about his film, and even discusses how similar The
Upside of Anger feels to Ang Lee's The Ice Storm -
a film that Binder clearly loves and says he "could watch
over and over again." This is, easily, one of the most
interesting and informative commentary tracks I've had the
pleasure to hear in quite a while.
 Also
included on this disc is an approximately 30-minute featurette
called "Creating The Upside of
Anger." While it may follow
the usual conventions of your typical EPK-style featurette -
interviews with all the major players and behind-the-scenes clips
mixed in with clips from the film - this feature actually has
some depth to it. The interviews are insightful, the footage from
the set is interesting, and the film clips are kept to a minimum.
Overall, this is a slickly produced and informative featurette
that makes a nice companion to the film itself.
There are also eight deleted scenes with optional
commentary by Mike Binder included on this disc. The
scenes are nothing really groundbreaking, but they do include an
interesting side plot about some creepy Joan Allen nightmares.
Binder does a fine job of explaining just why the scenes were
ultimately cut from the film. He even tells us which scenes he
particularly likes and dislikes. The film may be better off
without these scenes, but their inclusion on this disc is
certainly a welcome addition.
Finally, we have the theatrical trailer for The
Upside of Anger and trailers for several
other New Line releases including The Laws of Attraction,
Pleasantville, About Schmidt, and a few others.
Final Thoughts:
 During
their commentary track, moderator Rod Lurie discusses with
Writer/Director Binder just how quickly the four young actresses
(Christensen, Wood, Russell, and Witt) in The Upside of Anger
signed on once they heard that they'd get to work with Joan
Allen. Smart girls, to be sure, as they obviously know how
talented the actress is and just how well she'd deliver in the
film. Allen's performance is sure to be one of this year's best
and is already receiving some well-deserved, early Oscar® buzz.
In addition to Allen's work in the film, we get to see the return
to glory of Kevin Costner in a role that he completely inhabits.
He makes it his own and shows just why he was, at one time, one
of Hollywood's most popular (and best) actors. A great film all
around, The Upside of Anger is certainly one of the
early bright spots of 2005.
Although New Line didn't brand this disc with their Platinum
Series label, they did see fit to provide their usual top-notch
audio-visual presentation and a very nice set of extra material.
The featurette and deleted scenes are great additions to the
film, but the commentary track alone is worth the price of
admission. Simply having a film as good as The Upside of
Anger on DVD would be reason enough to purchase this disc,
but the inclusion of some excellent extra material easily makes
this a highly recommended release. |
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