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Guinevere
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I really doubt that "Guinevere" would work with any young actress besides Sarah Polley in the lead role. Not only stunning in dramas like "The Sweet Hereafter", but intense in thrilers like "Go", she continues with her performance in "Guinevere" - a wonderfully emotional, perfect performance that carries the movie.
Polley plays Harper Sloane, a young woman who finds herself feeling alone in the midst of her upper-class family. During the wedding of her sister, she meets the photographer, an older man named Connie Fitzpatrick,(Stephen Rea) and the two slowly begin to bond. Soon, he becomes her mentor, and the two begin to have a relationship. For a while, the two have their moments - both bad and good. It all comes to a halt, if only for a little while, when Harper finds that there have been other "Guinevere"'s before her. Soon though, they find themselves back together once more.
Not always did I believe the relationship between these two characters, but I enjoyed the performances very much(especially Polley). Audrey Wells, who wrote the very funny "Truth About Cats and Dogs" wrote and directed this picture and she does a fine job on both counts. The dialogue feels natural and original, and the characters are nicely three-dimensional. This is one of those films where characters, writing and performances lift us above a story that sometimes slightly misses the mark. Great cinematography by Charles Minsky("Pretty Woman"), as well.
The DVD
VIDEO: Another anamorphic transfer from Miramax/Disney, and it's very good, although this time there are some slight flaws that I found noticable. The image remains very clear and crisp, although there are times where it seemed to go slightly towards a little softness. Colors are natural and occasionally warm in nature, and there are no problems in that aspect.
Although there are slight traces of shimmer and pixelation, what I noticed most was a number of little marks/scratches here and there on the print used. They didn't manage to distract me greatly, but there were more than I'd like to see. Not bad, but there are certainly some problems.
SOUND: A small film like "Guinevere" is really focused primarily on dialogue, but I also found the light score that accompanies the movie to be very enjoyable - it didn't become enveloping, but it's enjoyably smooth and crisp sounding. Dialogue is clear and easily understood, as well. Above average for a small, independent film like this one.
MENUS:: A nice, stylish shot of Polley is the main menu - but there's nothing more than that - all of the menus are simply non-animated, film-themed shots.
EXTRAS: Again, Disney demonstrates their lack of understanding of what DVD consumers want. Like the "Tarzan" DVD, there are trailers for other movies that play when the disc is first inserted into the player. One of the great things about DVD itself is being able to watch what you want, when you want to. These trailers can also be selected in the main menu to watch, but the fact that they automatically play when the disc first is played is very, very annoying. This is something I sincerely hope Disney does not continue doing.
Final Thoughts: Mixed thoughts again towards Disney. I liked the movie and I think Polley is actress who will only become more of a star as her career continues. On the other hand, the DVD is really an average presentation. We don't even get the trailer for this film, but we're forced to watch ads for other Miramax films? This is one of those films where I would have really enjoyed hearing from the people involved with the movie, and since it's Disney - we're not going to get anything much in terms of extra features, where a studio like Tristar would likely have had a commentary or even a documentary. I think it's a good movie, but if you haven't seen it before, the DVD is recommended as a rental.
I really doubt that "Guinevere" would work with any young actress besides Sarah Polley in the lead role. Not only stunning in dramas like "The Sweet Hereafter", but intense in thrilers like "Go", she continues with her performance in "Guinevere" - a wonderfully emotional, perfect performance that carries the movie.
Polley plays Harper Sloane, a young woman who finds herself feeling alone in the midst of her upper-class family. During the wedding of her sister, she meets the photographer, an older man named Connie Fitzpatrick,(Stephen Rea) and the two slowly begin to bond. Soon, he becomes her mentor, and the two begin to have a relationship. For a while, the two have their moments - both bad and good. It all comes to a halt, if only for a little while, when Harper finds that there have been other "Guinevere"'s before her. Soon though, they find themselves back together once more.
Not always did I believe the relationship between these two characters, but I enjoyed the performances very much(especially Polley). Audrey Wells, who wrote the very funny "Truth About Cats and Dogs" wrote and directed this picture and she does a fine job on both counts. The dialogue feels natural and original, and the characters are nicely three-dimensional. This is one of those films where characters, writing and performances lift us above a story that sometimes slightly misses the mark. Great cinematography by Charles Minsky("Pretty Woman"), as well.
The DVD
VIDEO: Another anamorphic transfer from Miramax/Disney, and it's very good, although this time there are some slight flaws that I found noticable. The image remains very clear and crisp, although there are times where it seemed to go slightly towards a little softness. Colors are natural and occasionally warm in nature, and there are no problems in that aspect.
Although there are slight traces of shimmer and pixelation, what I noticed most was a number of little marks/scratches here and there on the print used. They didn't manage to distract me greatly, but there were more than I'd like to see. Not bad, but there are certainly some problems.
SOUND: A small film like "Guinevere" is really focused primarily on dialogue, but I also found the light score that accompanies the movie to be very enjoyable - it didn't become enveloping, but it's enjoyably smooth and crisp sounding. Dialogue is clear and easily understood, as well. Above average for a small, independent film like this one.
MENUS:: A nice, stylish shot of Polley is the main menu - but there's nothing more than that - all of the menus are simply non-animated, film-themed shots.
EXTRAS: Again, Disney demonstrates their lack of understanding of what DVD consumers want. Like the "Tarzan" DVD, there are trailers for other movies that play when the disc is first inserted into the player. One of the great things about DVD itself is being able to watch what you want, when you want to. These trailers can also be selected in the main menu to watch, but the fact that they automatically play when the disc first is played is very, very annoying. This is something I sincerely hope Disney does not continue doing.
Final Thoughts: Mixed thoughts again towards Disney. I liked the movie and I think Polley is actress who will only become more of a star as her career continues. On the other hand, the DVD is really an average presentation. We don't even get the trailer for this film, but we're forced to watch ads for other Miramax films? This is one of those films where I would have really enjoyed hearing from the people involved with the movie, and since it's Disney - we're not going to get anything much in terms of extra features, where a studio like Tristar would likely have had a commentary or even a documentary. I think it's a good movie, but if you haven't seen it before, the DVD is recommended as a rental.
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