| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Shrink
Lionsgate Home Entertainment // R // September 29, 2009
List Price: $27.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Film:
Several years after Crash took home top prize at the Oscars, we're still seeing many of the ultra-connected, "it's a small world" storylines coming out of the woodwork -- some of which are more far-fetched and beyond our grasp than others. Shrink, however, isn't just about its web of connected characters; instead, imagine Bob's story of aging hopelessness from Lost in Translation wrapped up in a overbearingly melancholy tone, adding dashes of the drug reliance from Garden State in with the troubled mentorship dynamic of Good Will Hunting. Somewhere in there you'll find this Kevin Spacey-led thoughtful dramedy from director Jonas Pate, a bleeding heart reflection on the death of creativity and virtue in a network of high-profile nutcases. It fares much better than the other Altman-like imitators around these days, offering a dramatically bloated yet tender glance at awakening from a static period in one's life.
When psychiatrist and successful self-help novelist Henry Carter (Spacey) wakes up in the morning, he reaches for a stash of weed and blazes up as soon as possible. Some might see this as simple addiction, but it runs deeper than that when considering the recent death of his wife. He's so distraught that he can't even sleep in their old bed, let alone start a casual relationship with a woman or, forbid, do a coherent job helping his high-profile Hollywood patients at his practice.
He helps a slew of different Hollywood folk, from a hyper-neurotic OCD agent (Dallas Roberts) and a sex-driven older actor (Robin Williams) to a beautiful yet aging starlet (Saffron Burrows) and her narcissistic country-singing husband -- hell, even his godson-in-law and close smoking buddy (Mark Webber), a struggling writer with an eye for the aforementioned agent's assistant, wants in on the therapy. Henry gets a bit of a wake-up call, however, when he's crow-barred into taking a pro-bono evaluative case named Jemma (Keke Palmer), a misguided, movie-loving girl with a similarly dark past to her doctor.
Without Kevin Spacey, it's possible that Shrink could've been nothing but an overwhelming cliché "we're all connected" picture; however, his controlled and gripping performance as Henry is surprisingly vivid, counterbalancing the ham-fisted schmaltziness lingering in the film's motives. The austerity he gives Hank fuels the first half of the film with a brooding intensity, while a credible awakening helps to ease the grievances that we might have with the overbearing effortlessness of the second half's race to help everything come to absolute fruition. It also helps that he and his office serve as a believable cornerstone for the interwoven narrative, stirring up a blend of part realism, part marginal suspended belief in the links between characters that helps engage our emotional investment. It's far more intelligible than the endless network of individuals in Crash, that's for certain.
Shrink's ultimately a heavy comedy that tries to mask itself a bit much as a touching drama, yet it's still affective enough to dig deeper in our emotional space than expected. One of the natural mistakes some might make lies in assuming that it's a sappy Hollywood pity party for their elites, instead of a black comedy with a human heart. It levitates around these high-profile individuals, yet it interacts with them on a normalized plane as they nervously pace about Henry's office. That's what makes each character intriguing and, in controlled doses, an obvious yet subtly sharp reflection on their archetype. Though flickers of Jeremy Piven's agent character in "Entourage" echo in Dallas Roberts' agent and Saffron Burrows' turn as the aging actress is overtly one-dimensional, they're easy to digest due to well-tuned charisma. And, especially in Roberts' case, they're executed potently with a dour satirical tone as the motivation.
Though Shrink's all about Henry's reawakening and the shaping of his clients, the film's beating heart lies in Jemma -- and the commanding performance from Akeelah and the Bee star Keke Palmer. It's a little bit on the obvious side, sure, but her ticket-stub-collecting thirst for being transposed from this life into the silver screen embodies the raw passion at the core of the filmmaking industry, an element of innocence and creativity that gets crippled underneath the upper-echelon pressures mucking up Henry's patients. Something special beats at the center of Shrink because of Jemma, and even if it takes a few stumbles in plot belief to get there, it's still worth grasping at this implausible network of relationships to unearth it from an avalanche of involvedness. Amid a depressive, apathetic state, Henry slowly begins to pull himself from the rubble and crawl towards this epiphany -- and so do we.
The DVD:
Video and Audio:
Presented in a dark 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image, Shrink sports the rhythmic, close-up heavy visual design befitting many of the film of its type. It has a lot of moments where the palette and minor detail really pour out from the image, leaping out from lavish color timing. The cinematography stirs around all the time to give it that waving natural fell, and the range of movement is handled exceptionally we. Some contrast issues at night render orange-ish black levels in a few spots and compression artifacts get a little dense in a few spots, but it's overall a very attractive, forcefully lush image.
Audio keeps a similar natural sound design in its Dolby 5.1 sound, staying dialogue and front-heavy for everything aside from musical cues. The dialogue mostly stays robust and audible, keeping environment in check through natural recorded dialogue. Musical elements exhibit the only strands of material stretching to the lower-frequency channels. It's not a terribly dynamic track, but it supports elements where needed. A like-minded 2.0 Doby track is also available, along with optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Director Jonas Pate and Producer Braxton Pope:
The duo provide a robust and insightful track, staying on-course throughout. They delve into working with Spacey, how some actors aren't willing to work with animals, staying true to the emotions of the big emotional scene near the conclusion, and the differences between the "Kubrick" school of perfect filmmaking and rushed shooting schedules. It's a bit of a gleeful, back-slapping commentary, but still a nice listen.
Also included are a lengthy stretch of press junket Interviews with Braxton Pope and Jonas Pete (22:21, 4x3), a series of Deleted Scenes (7:16, 4x3), and both a Jackson Browne Music Video and a Trailer.
Final Thoughts:
Though we've been bombarded with ultra-connected films about the effects that everyone has on each other's lives, Shrink takes a similar dynamic and makes it a pinch more tangible within its bleak, dry humor. Spacey heads the cast in a marvelous turn as Henry the pot-addicted psychiatrist, never reminding us of his American Beauty character for one moment as he stumbles through his internalized apathy in helping his Hollywood patients. Though heavy-handed in emotionality as the film approaches its third act and a little wishy-washy with the lines between humor, slight satire, and punchy drama, it's still a sharply pieced-together reflection of life and the mental anguish of the creative process. Recommended.
Thomas Spurlin, Staff Reviewer -- DVDTalk Reviews | Personal Blog/Site
 |
When psychiatrist and successful self-help novelist Henry Carter (Spacey) wakes up in the morning, he reaches for a stash of weed and blazes up as soon as possible. Some might see this as simple addiction, but it runs deeper than that when considering the recent death of his wife. He's so distraught that he can't even sleep in their old bed, let alone start a casual relationship with a woman or, forbid, do a coherent job helping his high-profile Hollywood patients at his practice.
He helps a slew of different Hollywood folk, from a hyper-neurotic OCD agent (Dallas Roberts) and a sex-driven older actor (Robin Williams) to a beautiful yet aging starlet (Saffron Burrows) and her narcissistic country-singing husband -- hell, even his godson-in-law and close smoking buddy (Mark Webber), a struggling writer with an eye for the aforementioned agent's assistant, wants in on the therapy. Henry gets a bit of a wake-up call, however, when he's crow-barred into taking a pro-bono evaluative case named Jemma (Keke Palmer), a misguided, movie-loving girl with a similarly dark past to her doctor.
Without Kevin Spacey, it's possible that Shrink could've been nothing but an overwhelming cliché "we're all connected" picture; however, his controlled and gripping performance as Henry is surprisingly vivid, counterbalancing the ham-fisted schmaltziness lingering in the film's motives. The austerity he gives Hank fuels the first half of the film with a brooding intensity, while a credible awakening helps to ease the grievances that we might have with the overbearing effortlessness of the second half's race to help everything come to absolute fruition. It also helps that he and his office serve as a believable cornerstone for the interwoven narrative, stirring up a blend of part realism, part marginal suspended belief in the links between characters that helps engage our emotional investment. It's far more intelligible than the endless network of individuals in Crash, that's for certain.
 |  |
Shrink's ultimately a heavy comedy that tries to mask itself a bit much as a touching drama, yet it's still affective enough to dig deeper in our emotional space than expected. One of the natural mistakes some might make lies in assuming that it's a sappy Hollywood pity party for their elites, instead of a black comedy with a human heart. It levitates around these high-profile individuals, yet it interacts with them on a normalized plane as they nervously pace about Henry's office. That's what makes each character intriguing and, in controlled doses, an obvious yet subtly sharp reflection on their archetype. Though flickers of Jeremy Piven's agent character in "Entourage" echo in Dallas Roberts' agent and Saffron Burrows' turn as the aging actress is overtly one-dimensional, they're easy to digest due to well-tuned charisma. And, especially in Roberts' case, they're executed potently with a dour satirical tone as the motivation.
Though Shrink's all about Henry's reawakening and the shaping of his clients, the film's beating heart lies in Jemma -- and the commanding performance from Akeelah and the Bee star Keke Palmer. It's a little bit on the obvious side, sure, but her ticket-stub-collecting thirst for being transposed from this life into the silver screen embodies the raw passion at the core of the filmmaking industry, an element of innocence and creativity that gets crippled underneath the upper-echelon pressures mucking up Henry's patients. Something special beats at the center of Shrink because of Jemma, and even if it takes a few stumbles in plot belief to get there, it's still worth grasping at this implausible network of relationships to unearth it from an avalanche of involvedness. Amid a depressive, apathetic state, Henry slowly begins to pull himself from the rubble and crawl towards this epiphany -- and so do we.
The DVD:
 |  |
Video and Audio:
Presented in a dark 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image, Shrink sports the rhythmic, close-up heavy visual design befitting many of the film of its type. It has a lot of moments where the palette and minor detail really pour out from the image, leaping out from lavish color timing. The cinematography stirs around all the time to give it that waving natural fell, and the range of movement is handled exceptionally we. Some contrast issues at night render orange-ish black levels in a few spots and compression artifacts get a little dense in a few spots, but it's overall a very attractive, forcefully lush image.
Audio keeps a similar natural sound design in its Dolby 5.1 sound, staying dialogue and front-heavy for everything aside from musical cues. The dialogue mostly stays robust and audible, keeping environment in check through natural recorded dialogue. Musical elements exhibit the only strands of material stretching to the lower-frequency channels. It's not a terribly dynamic track, but it supports elements where needed. A like-minded 2.0 Doby track is also available, along with optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Director Jonas Pate and Producer Braxton Pope:
The duo provide a robust and insightful track, staying on-course throughout. They delve into working with Spacey, how some actors aren't willing to work with animals, staying true to the emotions of the big emotional scene near the conclusion, and the differences between the "Kubrick" school of perfect filmmaking and rushed shooting schedules. It's a bit of a gleeful, back-slapping commentary, but still a nice listen.
Also included are a lengthy stretch of press junket Interviews with Braxton Pope and Jonas Pete (22:21, 4x3), a series of Deleted Scenes (7:16, 4x3), and both a Jackson Browne Music Video and a Trailer.
Final Thoughts:
Though we've been bombarded with ultra-connected films about the effects that everyone has on each other's lives, Shrink takes a similar dynamic and makes it a pinch more tangible within its bleak, dry humor. Spacey heads the cast in a marvelous turn as Henry the pot-addicted psychiatrist, never reminding us of his American Beauty character for one moment as he stumbles through his internalized apathy in helping his Hollywood patients. Though heavy-handed in emotionality as the film approaches its third act and a little wishy-washy with the lines between humor, slight satire, and punchy drama, it's still a sharply pieced-together reflection of life and the mental anguish of the creative process. Recommended.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||