The Movie
When I first found out I would be reviewing Control, my emotional response ran the gamut. At first I was disappointed, thinking I was getting a DVD of Sean Young's sex thriller from 2002. Then I was kind of excited, hoping it was 1987 TV-film about a group of people trapped in a fall-out shelter. Then I got confused, because I thought the 2003 Hungarian film was spelled Kontroll. Then I figured it out. The DVD I would be reviewing would be the straight-to-video 2004 independent serial killer-drama, starring Willem Dafoe and Ray Liotta. Considering the cast and concept, intrigued described my feelings best. I've rarely been blown away by a video release, so intrigued worked best, in order to prevent myself from expecting too much.

Dafoe is Dr. Thomas Copeland, a chemist working on a drug to reduce anger in humans. In need of a test subject for his drug, he finds the perfect guinea pig in Lee Ray Oliver (Liotta), a convicted murderer who's about to be executed. A few medical shenanigans later, and Lee Ray is on the pill. A couple of complications are on the way, but things seem to actually work, as the cold-blooded killer begins to show human emotions.

As Lee Ray moves further from his past, the past moves faster to keep up, and it's questionable whether he can ever escape with Copeland's help. That becomes the main theme of the movie; whether people can change and if a life dependant on drugs is worth living. The film takes the easy way out, using childhood violence to explain the killer's motivation. Instead of allowing evil to just be evil, it had to have an explanation. Perhaps it would have been harder for the audience to accept Lee Ray's treatment without a reason for his "sickness." This way though, the drugs don't change him, they just revert him to when he was good.

There are several subplots at work in the film, including Copeland's screwed-up family life, Lee Ray's attempts to quell his guilt over his first life and a vengeful sibling, as well as a romantic entanglement with Lee Ray's new coworker, Terese (Michelle Rodriguez). But in order to make room for these diversions, the main plot is left somewhat thin. There's something of a twist pre-ending, but if you didn't figure it out, you weren't paying attention during the rest of the movie. It's followed up by an ending that's not exactly satisfying, making the final reel drag to its end.

Fortunately, Dafoe and Liotta are simply so fascinating to watch, that no matter what's happening plotwise, they demand you to watch them. Add in Stephen Rea's role as Copeland's supervisor, and you have a trifecta of excellent actors. Only Rodriguez disappoints, but its not like she's doing anything different than she did in her previous films. She's just not that good and it shows when playing against a master like Liotta.

The DVD
Columbia/Tri-Star gives Control its American debut on one DVD, packed in a standard keepcase. The menus are animated and anamorphic widescreen, and they pick up the theme of the movie quite well. Options include play, scene selections, languages, special features and previews. Scene selections are presented four to a page, with small still previews and a title for each, while languages include English, French and Spanish, with French subtitles available as well. A promotional insert, highlighting Columbia/Tri-Star's B-movie lineup, is included.

The Quality
This is simply a beautiful transfer, with crystal-clear video throughout, except when intentional grain is used to good effect during flashbacks. Colors are vivid, black levels are solid and there is no obvious evidence of dirt or damage, nor are there any signs of compression problems. There's some digital pixelation, but it seems to stem from digital effect shots, not the transfer.

The audio is presented in Dolby Surround 5.1, but I can't think of a moment where the mix stood out. In fact, at several points, I found myself cranking up the volume a bit, to hear better. There was no distortion, but it could have been louder.

The Extras
Aside from seven trailers, including one for Control there's just one extra on this DVD, a making-of featurette, appropriately titled, "The Making of Control." Running about 16 minutes, it's a pretty in-depth look behind the scenes of the Bulgarian shoot, including interviews with most of the principals, info on how some of the shots and special effects came together, and some low-quality footage from the film. The whole package has something of a washed-out feel, but it's not horrible considering the source materials.

The Bottom Line
When a film starring recognizable and relatively popular actors like Dafoe, Liotta, Rea and Rodriguez doesn't receive a theatrical release, it's more than likely that the movie has some serious problems. When it comes to this movie, the problem is there's not much plot. There are some interesting concepts at work, but there's only so much going on in terms of action. With a pretty pat ending and a DVD package that's essentially barebones, it's hard to recommend a purchase here, but with two excellent actors facing off, it's absolutely worth checking out.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.