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Passion Of Mind
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
After finishing up my review of Sandra Bullock's "28 Days", I start with another film with another actress who is quite good, who has simply not made good choices in her career. Demi Moore, at her best, is an intense actress who can really pull in an audience. In her recent "GI Jane", she did well, but the movie wasn't appreciated. "Passion Of Mind" is another, softer dramatic turn for the actress, but it's unfortunate that this picture wasn't given the notice it deserved, either. It also went through an extremely tough production, with delays and other troubles serving as obstacles on its way to a small theatrical release early this year. This is a picture with flaws, but I was able to grasp onto its positive aspects to carry me through the film.
The picture was written by Ron Bass, who has quickly become one of the biggest screenwriters in Hollywood after hits like "My Best Friends Wedding". The film is another in a line of recent pictures about a character have a fantasy life outside their own. Similar recent films include, "Me Myself I" and "Sliding Doors". "Passion Of Mind" takes its own spin on the premise, with Moore playing two characters, Marie and Marty. When Marie goes to sleep in France, she wakes up as Marty in New York - in essence, she's living, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - each version looking for what the other has. Although having a beautiful home and family in France and a great apartment in New York isn't something I'd complain about, I can see where Moore's character would seek help.
She has help, with two shrinks and two men in her lives (one for each personality). The problem with the film is that it really deliberately paces the film out, when the only thing that exists to keep us with the picture is how it all will end. Thankfully, Moore gives a natural performance that's easily one of her better ones. Without her, we really couldn't care - and the film would be over before it started. Although I generally have liked much of Ron Bass's work (especially "My Best Friend's Wedding"), I wasn't always interested by what he gives the characters to say here. I liked the general idea of the movie, but the quality of the dialogue is sometimes shaky.
Moore's performance is really what carries the film along. The parts for the two male characters (played by the otherwise strong actors Stellan Skarsgard and William Fichtner) are thinly written and neither actor really makes much of an impression. Moore's character brings the audience into the worry of which character is real and which character isn't - the film as is does take too long to get to the final thoughts, and it's this character that makes or breaks the movie. Had it been played wrong, the audience would have no interest.
"Passion Of Mind" is flawed, but it's very close to good - and wrapped up by a very strong ending. It's certainly workable, and a few little touches and some slight trimming would have really made for a great movie. Moore reveals a softer, subtler side that is quite pleasing. She just needs that part to bring her back. Aside from that, I'm not sure if I've seen a more visually pleasing movie lately; Eduardo Serra's cinematography is a treat, capturing the beauty of France and the feel of New York City wonderfully.
The DVD
VIDEO: When this film started, I instantly wanted to know two things: who is the cinematographer, and where was this shot? The answer to the first part of the question is Eduardo Serra, whose work I enjoyed greatly in the Robin Williams drama "What Dreams May Come", where images were so rich at times you wanted to reach into the screen and touch them. And, as with the film, the picture was shot in New York City and France, which looks so warm and beautiful in this picture that many scenes could and should simply be used in postcards.
Paramount's anamorphic transfer in the film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio is quite good. There are some small scenes that have slight flaws, but they are simply quick occurences, and problems are not consistent. Occasionally, I saw some slight cases of shimmer and one or two very trace instances of pixelation. The print used is in excellent condition, with no flaws to be found. I didn't find any of the slight problems to be distracting.
Sharpness is excellent, aside from some small scenes that seem to intentionally have a slight touch of softness to them. Detail and clarity are also both good even in some of the dimly lit scenes. Flesh tones are accurate and black level is solid throughout.
I mentioned the colors before, and they really are striking. To add to the differences between the New York and France scenes, the New York sequences tend to have more of a natural look, with a colder light at times. Still, colors on display look solid and attractive, but not quite as remarkable as the colors in many of the French sequences. Colors in these scenes have an almost impossible warmth to them, and look very nicely saturated without any problems at all.
If not for the slight bumps, this would really be a perfect presentation. Praise to Eduardo Serra's cinematography and Paramount, for presenting it in such a lovely fashion.
SOUND: The film boasts an enjoyable Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack that is, as one would expect, mainly a dialogue-driven affair. Randy Edelman's sometimes unsubtle score washes through the room, sounding warm and clear. Surrounds lightly carry the score and the occasional ambient sound such as a breeze or bird chirp, but don't recieve really any other work to do than that. Dialogue is clear and easily heard with no issues. Audio that gets the job done and presents the sound with good quality.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with nicely placed film-themed images.
EXTRAS: The film's trailer is the only extra.
Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of romantic films, "Passion Of Mind" is something that's definitely worth checking out as a rental, at least. It's an interesting movie, most of which I enjoyed. Paramount hasn't provided much in the way of extra features here, but image quality really captures the beautiful cinematography well, and audio quality presents the score nicely.
After finishing up my review of Sandra Bullock's "28 Days", I start with another film with another actress who is quite good, who has simply not made good choices in her career. Demi Moore, at her best, is an intense actress who can really pull in an audience. In her recent "GI Jane", she did well, but the movie wasn't appreciated. "Passion Of Mind" is another, softer dramatic turn for the actress, but it's unfortunate that this picture wasn't given the notice it deserved, either. It also went through an extremely tough production, with delays and other troubles serving as obstacles on its way to a small theatrical release early this year. This is a picture with flaws, but I was able to grasp onto its positive aspects to carry me through the film.
The picture was written by Ron Bass, who has quickly become one of the biggest screenwriters in Hollywood after hits like "My Best Friends Wedding". The film is another in a line of recent pictures about a character have a fantasy life outside their own. Similar recent films include, "Me Myself I" and "Sliding Doors". "Passion Of Mind" takes its own spin on the premise, with Moore playing two characters, Marie and Marty. When Marie goes to sleep in France, she wakes up as Marty in New York - in essence, she's living, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - each version looking for what the other has. Although having a beautiful home and family in France and a great apartment in New York isn't something I'd complain about, I can see where Moore's character would seek help.
She has help, with two shrinks and two men in her lives (one for each personality). The problem with the film is that it really deliberately paces the film out, when the only thing that exists to keep us with the picture is how it all will end. Thankfully, Moore gives a natural performance that's easily one of her better ones. Without her, we really couldn't care - and the film would be over before it started. Although I generally have liked much of Ron Bass's work (especially "My Best Friend's Wedding"), I wasn't always interested by what he gives the characters to say here. I liked the general idea of the movie, but the quality of the dialogue is sometimes shaky.
Moore's performance is really what carries the film along. The parts for the two male characters (played by the otherwise strong actors Stellan Skarsgard and William Fichtner) are thinly written and neither actor really makes much of an impression. Moore's character brings the audience into the worry of which character is real and which character isn't - the film as is does take too long to get to the final thoughts, and it's this character that makes or breaks the movie. Had it been played wrong, the audience would have no interest.
"Passion Of Mind" is flawed, but it's very close to good - and wrapped up by a very strong ending. It's certainly workable, and a few little touches and some slight trimming would have really made for a great movie. Moore reveals a softer, subtler side that is quite pleasing. She just needs that part to bring her back. Aside from that, I'm not sure if I've seen a more visually pleasing movie lately; Eduardo Serra's cinematography is a treat, capturing the beauty of France and the feel of New York City wonderfully.
The DVD
VIDEO: When this film started, I instantly wanted to know two things: who is the cinematographer, and where was this shot? The answer to the first part of the question is Eduardo Serra, whose work I enjoyed greatly in the Robin Williams drama "What Dreams May Come", where images were so rich at times you wanted to reach into the screen and touch them. And, as with the film, the picture was shot in New York City and France, which looks so warm and beautiful in this picture that many scenes could and should simply be used in postcards.
Paramount's anamorphic transfer in the film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio is quite good. There are some small scenes that have slight flaws, but they are simply quick occurences, and problems are not consistent. Occasionally, I saw some slight cases of shimmer and one or two very trace instances of pixelation. The print used is in excellent condition, with no flaws to be found. I didn't find any of the slight problems to be distracting.
Sharpness is excellent, aside from some small scenes that seem to intentionally have a slight touch of softness to them. Detail and clarity are also both good even in some of the dimly lit scenes. Flesh tones are accurate and black level is solid throughout.
I mentioned the colors before, and they really are striking. To add to the differences between the New York and France scenes, the New York sequences tend to have more of a natural look, with a colder light at times. Still, colors on display look solid and attractive, but not quite as remarkable as the colors in many of the French sequences. Colors in these scenes have an almost impossible warmth to them, and look very nicely saturated without any problems at all.
If not for the slight bumps, this would really be a perfect presentation. Praise to Eduardo Serra's cinematography and Paramount, for presenting it in such a lovely fashion.
SOUND: The film boasts an enjoyable Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack that is, as one would expect, mainly a dialogue-driven affair. Randy Edelman's sometimes unsubtle score washes through the room, sounding warm and clear. Surrounds lightly carry the score and the occasional ambient sound such as a breeze or bird chirp, but don't recieve really any other work to do than that. Dialogue is clear and easily heard with no issues. Audio that gets the job done and presents the sound with good quality.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with nicely placed film-themed images.
EXTRAS: The film's trailer is the only extra.
Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of romantic films, "Passion Of Mind" is something that's definitely worth checking out as a rental, at least. It's an interesting movie, most of which I enjoyed. Paramount hasn't provided much in the way of extra features here, but image quality really captures the beautiful cinematography well, and audio quality presents the score nicely.
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