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Stormy Monday
MGM // R // September 17, 2002
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"In medias res" is a time-honored storytelling technique: as Homer (the Greek epic poet, not the Simpsons character) would have told us, starting in the beginning of a story can do wonders for catching an audience's interest. However, for that kind of introduction to work, the storyteller has to do two things: first, catch the audience's attention and interest in some way, and second, make sure that the story unfolds in such a way that the audience understands what's going on. Stormy Monday starts in the middle of something, but unfortunately for its viewers, director/writer Mike Figgis violates both of these rules, leaving the viewer stranded in an uninvolving muddle of a story.
From the beginning Stormy Monday leaves the viewer in a state of disorientation. The action appears to take place in a small British town, but one that for some unknown reason is holding a festival celebrating "America Week." From the context that's given, it seems that a character from the U.S. is running for office... which of course makes no sense. But instead of clarifying the setting and plot, the story blindly pushes onward, introducing new elements and characters one after another with no indication of how these pieces fit together to make a coherent story.
The plot appears to be presented through casual, almost throw-away snippets woven into the film: a radio announcement playing in the background, for instance, appears in retrospect to present information that is vital for understanding who the characters are. Other casual, mumbled lines by the characters also offer hints... but the burning question is why the viewer would bother to expend the mental energy to try to fit the pieces together, when there's no indication of anything worthwhile in the picture. It boils down to a conflict between the character of Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) and a local nightclub owner (Sting), a conflict whose development over the course of the film is confusing, pointless, and, ultimately, dull.
It's possible that the screenplay left the "intrigue" plot sketchy in order to focus on the emotional battles being played out in the film. If that was the case, I can only say that it failed completely, leaving the film with neither a coherent story nor interesting characters. Although her role in the plot is never adequately explained, Melanie Griffith appears to be the centerpiece of the film, with her relationship to Brendan (Sean Bean) putting her in a situation where she must make a decision where her loyalty lies: with Cosmo for whom she works, or with Brendan, her new lover. Unfortunately, the relationship just doesn't fly. Griffith seems to pose rather than act her way through the film; her relationship with Brendan seems transparently arranged for the sake of the plot; and in the end there's just no compelling reason to care about her.
Video
Stormy Monday is presented in a good-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer. The 1988 film shows its age to a certain extent, particularly in a fairly high noise level, but on the whole it looks well-cleaned-up, particularly when compared to the condition of the print in the trailer. Unfortunately, I did notice some edge enhancement in the image. There are no print flaws or scratches, and colors are handled well, with the picture looking bright and vibrant. Contrast suffers a bit in challenging situations such as dark objects in the foreground with a bright background, but for most of the "moody" dimly lit shots, the contrast is capable of presenting the details of the picture fairly well.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track for Stormy Monday is one of the worst I've heard in a long time. There are tracks that sound blah, and tracks that don't live up to expectations, and tracks that have flaws; Stormy Monday's soundtrack goes beyond that to actively detract from the viewing experience.
The volume levels are way off, as is the balance between music and dialogue. The dialogue portions of the track are both muted and muffled: cranking up the volume addresses the muted part, but does nothing for the fact that at least half the dialogue, if not more, is unintelligible. The actors often speak rapidly or in an undertone, which highlights the need for an adequate audio track to make their lines clear for the viewers.
It's bad enough that the dialogue is badly handled. What takes the soundtrack from bad to worse is the mishandling of the music portion of the track. In addition to the normal musical backdrop, Stormy Monday makes heavy use of environmental music from bands or jukeboxes playing in the scene itself, for instance. Both types of music are played at a volume level badly out of sync with the dialogue: the volume level of the music stays constant, for instance, even when the scene switches from being wordless to using dialogue. I found myself constantly straining to hear the actors, who were frequently drowned out by the music. Additionally, the overall volume of the music track is too loud, resulting in a highly unpleasant seesawing between the too-quiet dialogue scenes and the blasting music scenes.
Apart from the volume and music balance issues, the audio quality of Stormy Monday is unimpressive. The loud portions of the track are harsh and blaring, while the softer portions are muffled and flat. It's an audio experience that makes watching the movie highly disagreeable.
Extras
Just this side of bare-bones, Stormy Monday offers a theatrical trailer and a pan-and-scan version of the film.
Final thoughts
I actually like most of the actors involved in Stormy Monday, which made for all the greater disappointment when I found out what a lousy movie it was. I'd put most of the blame on a dismal script, but none of the actors seem particularly involved, either. This one's not even worth a rental.
From the beginning Stormy Monday leaves the viewer in a state of disorientation. The action appears to take place in a small British town, but one that for some unknown reason is holding a festival celebrating "America Week." From the context that's given, it seems that a character from the U.S. is running for office... which of course makes no sense. But instead of clarifying the setting and plot, the story blindly pushes onward, introducing new elements and characters one after another with no indication of how these pieces fit together to make a coherent story.
The plot appears to be presented through casual, almost throw-away snippets woven into the film: a radio announcement playing in the background, for instance, appears in retrospect to present information that is vital for understanding who the characters are. Other casual, mumbled lines by the characters also offer hints... but the burning question is why the viewer would bother to expend the mental energy to try to fit the pieces together, when there's no indication of anything worthwhile in the picture. It boils down to a conflict between the character of Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) and a local nightclub owner (Sting), a conflict whose development over the course of the film is confusing, pointless, and, ultimately, dull.
It's possible that the screenplay left the "intrigue" plot sketchy in order to focus on the emotional battles being played out in the film. If that was the case, I can only say that it failed completely, leaving the film with neither a coherent story nor interesting characters. Although her role in the plot is never adequately explained, Melanie Griffith appears to be the centerpiece of the film, with her relationship to Brendan (Sean Bean) putting her in a situation where she must make a decision where her loyalty lies: with Cosmo for whom she works, or with Brendan, her new lover. Unfortunately, the relationship just doesn't fly. Griffith seems to pose rather than act her way through the film; her relationship with Brendan seems transparently arranged for the sake of the plot; and in the end there's just no compelling reason to care about her.
Video
Stormy Monday is presented in a good-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer. The 1988 film shows its age to a certain extent, particularly in a fairly high noise level, but on the whole it looks well-cleaned-up, particularly when compared to the condition of the print in the trailer. Unfortunately, I did notice some edge enhancement in the image. There are no print flaws or scratches, and colors are handled well, with the picture looking bright and vibrant. Contrast suffers a bit in challenging situations such as dark objects in the foreground with a bright background, but for most of the "moody" dimly lit shots, the contrast is capable of presenting the details of the picture fairly well.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 track for Stormy Monday is one of the worst I've heard in a long time. There are tracks that sound blah, and tracks that don't live up to expectations, and tracks that have flaws; Stormy Monday's soundtrack goes beyond that to actively detract from the viewing experience.
The volume levels are way off, as is the balance between music and dialogue. The dialogue portions of the track are both muted and muffled: cranking up the volume addresses the muted part, but does nothing for the fact that at least half the dialogue, if not more, is unintelligible. The actors often speak rapidly or in an undertone, which highlights the need for an adequate audio track to make their lines clear for the viewers.
It's bad enough that the dialogue is badly handled. What takes the soundtrack from bad to worse is the mishandling of the music portion of the track. In addition to the normal musical backdrop, Stormy Monday makes heavy use of environmental music from bands or jukeboxes playing in the scene itself, for instance. Both types of music are played at a volume level badly out of sync with the dialogue: the volume level of the music stays constant, for instance, even when the scene switches from being wordless to using dialogue. I found myself constantly straining to hear the actors, who were frequently drowned out by the music. Additionally, the overall volume of the music track is too loud, resulting in a highly unpleasant seesawing between the too-quiet dialogue scenes and the blasting music scenes.
Apart from the volume and music balance issues, the audio quality of Stormy Monday is unimpressive. The loud portions of the track are harsh and blaring, while the softer portions are muffled and flat. It's an audio experience that makes watching the movie highly disagreeable.
Extras
Just this side of bare-bones, Stormy Monday offers a theatrical trailer and a pan-and-scan version of the film.
Final thoughts
I actually like most of the actors involved in Stormy Monday, which made for all the greater disappointment when I found out what a lousy movie it was. I'd put most of the blame on a dismal script, but none of the actors seem particularly involved, either. This one's not even worth a rental.
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