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Focus
Paramount // PG-13 // March 19, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The year is 1945; World War II is coming to a close. But in the neighborhood of New York where Lawrence Newman (William H. Macy) lives and works, hatred and prejudice are as pervasive as in Nazi Germany where U.S. soldiers are fighting. Newman has lived an unobtrusive life, going along with the norms of his neighborhood without questioning or coming into conflict with them... until the day that a new pair of glasses suddenly makes his employer and his neighbors think that he "looks Jewish." Now that he is on the receiving end of anti-Semitism, it does Newman no good to protest that he's not Jewish; it becomes clear that to the mob, appearance is everything.
Focus, based on playwright Arthur Miller's 1945 novel of the same name, is an interestingly layered look at the psychology of prejudice, and what happens to an ordinary person caught up in it. Though it presents a strong and disturbing picture of anti-Semitism and racism, Focus is not in fact a didactic film. It would have been all too easy to present some characters as "good" for supporting the rights of the Jewish inhabitants of the neighborhood and others as "bad" for hating them. However, director Neal Slavin takes a more complex and ultimately more interesting look at the situation. Lawrence Newman is a highly conflicted character: while he doesn't act against anyone, he nonetheless still has a full set of vague, unconsidered prejudices that lead him into passivity in the face of his neighbors' cruelty. Even when he begins to suffer the same prejudice that he had previously merely observed happening to others, joining up with his genuinely Jewish neighbor in a common cause is the last thing in Newman's mind. He just wants to be left alone, even if it means going along with the mob; yet at the same time, he is possessed by doubts and second thoughts. His glasses, which with their "Jewish" appearance precipitated the problem to begin with, become a central metaphor for his identity and for the film as a whole.
Visually, Focus is extremely polished. Slavin does all sorts of interesting things with the camera, using abstract or surreal elements at times to convey the inner torment of the character. The recurring dream element of the carousel, which is introduced in the opening credits and takes on significance later in the film, provides an interesting visual contrast, through its blurred motion, with the static world of the neighborhood.
The depth of the film is nicely brought out by a set of excellent performances from the cast. William H. Macy shows again that he can effectively convey the character of the slightly lost, slightly defeated man, but in Focus he also shows that he can go deeper than that, and pulls off a well-rounded characterization of the conflicted Newman. Meat Loaf Aday, as Newman's neighbor, continues to impress me with another strong performance after Fight Club, and Laura Dern turns in a well-rounded characterization of Gertrude Hart, another character with issues about her own identity.
The one problematic area of Focus is its reliance on the audience's assumptions about ethnic identity. The film revolves around characters who "look Jewish," regardless of whether they actually are or are not Jewish; my difficulty was that I was never able to figure out what visual cues are supposed to signal "Jewish." To me, all the characters in the film looked different, but I would not be able to tell you which ones looked Jewish and which ones didn't. I'm still not sure whether or not this issue was clouded for me because of a lack of shared assumptions, or whether Slavin was actually playing on the absurdity of categorizing people by their appearance.
Interestingly, whether or not it was intentional, the confusion about a particular character's ethnic/religious identity contributes to the theme of the film. It doesn't matter whether or not Newman is really Jewish; the issue is whether his neighbors have decided to hate him or not. If he is considered an unwelcome nonconformist, any label will do, out of the assortment of hate-labels of the time: Jewish, communist, atheist, internationalist. He can't take refuge in denying his Jewishness or in asserting his ethnic commonality with his neighbors, because in truth that's not the problem: the conflict is about the terrible strength of social pressure to conform.
Video
Paramount deserves kudos for this excellent transfer of Focus. The anamorphic widescreen print presents the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is completely clean; there's not a bit of noise or a single print flaw to be seen. The image is sharp and clear, with no edge enhancement; contrast is excellent, with scenes in both brightly-lit and dark areas coming across well. Colors are an important element in this visually-rich film, and the various bright primary colors used throughout the movie come across vividly and cleanly. In short, the DVD transfer of Focus is simply outstanding.
Audio
Focus is a great example of how a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack can be put to good use even in a film that's primarily dialogue-focused. From the opening credits to the end of the film, Focus' 5.1 track provides a rich and immersive audio experience. Dialogue is uniformly clear and distinct, while the music portion of the soundtrack is properly balanced with the dialogue. The sound overall feels full and rich, with various elements of the soundtrack well balanced over the different channels.
Extras
Paramount isn't noted for loading up its discs with special features, and Focus is no exception. The one extra on the disc is a 12-minute promotional featurette.
Final thoughts
Focus is a complex and many-layered production that certainly left me thinking about it after I'd finished watching it. Amazingly, this is director Neal Slavin's first film, but it's clear that Slavin has brought a strong visual sense to filmmaking from his career in photography, as the cinematography is outstanding. Focus is a film that will most certainly reward repeat viewing; it's worth seeking out.
Focus, based on playwright Arthur Miller's 1945 novel of the same name, is an interestingly layered look at the psychology of prejudice, and what happens to an ordinary person caught up in it. Though it presents a strong and disturbing picture of anti-Semitism and racism, Focus is not in fact a didactic film. It would have been all too easy to present some characters as "good" for supporting the rights of the Jewish inhabitants of the neighborhood and others as "bad" for hating them. However, director Neal Slavin takes a more complex and ultimately more interesting look at the situation. Lawrence Newman is a highly conflicted character: while he doesn't act against anyone, he nonetheless still has a full set of vague, unconsidered prejudices that lead him into passivity in the face of his neighbors' cruelty. Even when he begins to suffer the same prejudice that he had previously merely observed happening to others, joining up with his genuinely Jewish neighbor in a common cause is the last thing in Newman's mind. He just wants to be left alone, even if it means going along with the mob; yet at the same time, he is possessed by doubts and second thoughts. His glasses, which with their "Jewish" appearance precipitated the problem to begin with, become a central metaphor for his identity and for the film as a whole.
Visually, Focus is extremely polished. Slavin does all sorts of interesting things with the camera, using abstract or surreal elements at times to convey the inner torment of the character. The recurring dream element of the carousel, which is introduced in the opening credits and takes on significance later in the film, provides an interesting visual contrast, through its blurred motion, with the static world of the neighborhood.
The depth of the film is nicely brought out by a set of excellent performances from the cast. William H. Macy shows again that he can effectively convey the character of the slightly lost, slightly defeated man, but in Focus he also shows that he can go deeper than that, and pulls off a well-rounded characterization of the conflicted Newman. Meat Loaf Aday, as Newman's neighbor, continues to impress me with another strong performance after Fight Club, and Laura Dern turns in a well-rounded characterization of Gertrude Hart, another character with issues about her own identity.
The one problematic area of Focus is its reliance on the audience's assumptions about ethnic identity. The film revolves around characters who "look Jewish," regardless of whether they actually are or are not Jewish; my difficulty was that I was never able to figure out what visual cues are supposed to signal "Jewish." To me, all the characters in the film looked different, but I would not be able to tell you which ones looked Jewish and which ones didn't. I'm still not sure whether or not this issue was clouded for me because of a lack of shared assumptions, or whether Slavin was actually playing on the absurdity of categorizing people by their appearance.
Interestingly, whether or not it was intentional, the confusion about a particular character's ethnic/religious identity contributes to the theme of the film. It doesn't matter whether or not Newman is really Jewish; the issue is whether his neighbors have decided to hate him or not. If he is considered an unwelcome nonconformist, any label will do, out of the assortment of hate-labels of the time: Jewish, communist, atheist, internationalist. He can't take refuge in denying his Jewishness or in asserting his ethnic commonality with his neighbors, because in truth that's not the problem: the conflict is about the terrible strength of social pressure to conform.
Video
Paramount deserves kudos for this excellent transfer of Focus. The anamorphic widescreen print presents the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is completely clean; there's not a bit of noise or a single print flaw to be seen. The image is sharp and clear, with no edge enhancement; contrast is excellent, with scenes in both brightly-lit and dark areas coming across well. Colors are an important element in this visually-rich film, and the various bright primary colors used throughout the movie come across vividly and cleanly. In short, the DVD transfer of Focus is simply outstanding.
Audio
Focus is a great example of how a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack can be put to good use even in a film that's primarily dialogue-focused. From the opening credits to the end of the film, Focus' 5.1 track provides a rich and immersive audio experience. Dialogue is uniformly clear and distinct, while the music portion of the soundtrack is properly balanced with the dialogue. The sound overall feels full and rich, with various elements of the soundtrack well balanced over the different channels.
Extras
Paramount isn't noted for loading up its discs with special features, and Focus is no exception. The one extra on the disc is a 12-minute promotional featurette.
Final thoughts
Focus is a complex and many-layered production that certainly left me thinking about it after I'd finished watching it. Amazingly, this is director Neal Slavin's first film, but it's clear that Slavin has brought a strong visual sense to filmmaking from his career in photography, as the cinematography is outstanding. Focus is a film that will most certainly reward repeat viewing; it's worth seeking out.
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