Del Toro is the actor that should have taken home the Oscar for the role of Jerry Sunborne.
I felt that "Things We Lost in the Fire" was a decent film and would have not thought much more about it if it weren´t for the incredible performance by Benicio del Toro. He does not get the amount of respect he deserves for his continued work in Hollywood and I still cannot see how he did not receive a single nomination from anybody for his performance. It truly baffles me. Duchovney shines in his sparse time on-screen and Halle Berry´s character is not the most likable person, but her performance is nicely done. The story could have used a little work and the film could have been a little less depressing, but with del Toro commanding the film from start to end, "Things We Lost in the Fire" is allowed to rise far above mediocrity. This is a film where an actor can deliver such a solid performance that nothing else around him matters and del Toro´s performance is all that matters in this film.
Video:
"Things We Lost in the Fire" was shot in 2.35:1 framed 35mm film. The DVD nicely preserves the proper aspect ratio and delivers a strong anamorphic widescreen transfer that is strong, but depressing looking. It is depressing because of the depressed palette used to bring the story to the viewer. Lighting is overly harsh and its desaturated colors provide a less-than-beautiful world to the viewer. Director of Photography Tom Stern and director Susanne Bier must have wanted the visuals to be as much of a downer as the film, because this sometimes grainy and never colorful looking film is visually depressing. Detail is quite strong and the extreme close-ups used throughout the film to close in on del Toro´s expressive eyes shows each wrinkle around the 41-year –olds eyes. Black levels are strong and aside from the intentional grain, "Things We Lost in the Fire" is impeccable. If only the colors weren´t as depressing as they are.
Sound:
The English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is not given a lot of room to shine in this front-heavy and dialogue-dependent mix. The DVD also provides French and Spanish 5.1 mixes and subtitles for all three supported languages. The musical score by Johan Soderqvist is minimalistic and does aid in conveying the emotions of the characters, but is easily overlooked during some of the more powerfully acted moments in the film. There are some ambient sounds provided, such as birds chirping or water splashing, but nearly everything is contained in the front three channels. Bass is hardly noticeable during the running length of the film. Dialogue is intelligible, but there were more than a couple instances where volume dropped low enough that I missed a few words and had to ´rewind´ to hear what I had not heard. The mix is clean, but uninspired.
Extras:
About a half an hour´s worth of supplemental materials is provided with "Things We Lost in the Fire." A twenty minute promotional making-of feature, A Discussion About Things We Lost in the Fire (20:24), features director Susanne Bier, writer Allan Loeb, producer Sam Mendes and stars Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro recounting their involvement with the film. This talking-heads production features a very minimal number of making-of moments and is mostly comprised of interview segments and footage from the film. It is formulaic, but the involvement of all key figures makes it almost worthwhile. The Seven Deleted Scenes (9:25) can be played collectively of separately. Two or three of them could have been left in the film and were nicely done, but another two or three of them deserved to be cut. The Theatrical Trailer and some Previews are also included.
Closing Comments:
I thought "Things We Lost in the Fire" was a film that rises to the occasion solely because of the incredible performance by Benicio del Toro. Del Toro is the actor that should have taken home the Oscar for the role of Jerry Sunborne. If it weren´t for del Toro, "Things We Lost in the Fire" would have been merely mediocre. The film digs too hard for emotional responses from the audience, but watching del Toro´s character battle his drug dependency is powerful entertainment. The DVD release of the film is hindered by an overly tame sound design and colors that are muted to the point of being depressing. The supplements are decent enough and a couple of the deleted scenes are definitely worth watching. If you want to see one of the best actors giving his best performance, than "Things We Lost in the Fire" will reward you with Benicio del Toro at his best.
Video:
"Things We Lost in the Fire" was shot in 2.35:1 framed 35mm film. The DVD nicely preserves the proper aspect ratio and delivers a strong anamorphic widescreen transfer that is strong, but depressing looking. It is depressing because of the depressed palette used to bring the story to the viewer. Lighting is overly harsh and its desaturated colors provide a less-than-beautiful world to the viewer. Director of Photography Tom Stern and director Susanne Bier must have wanted the visuals to be as much of a downer as the film, because this sometimes grainy and never colorful looking film is visually depressing. Detail is quite strong and the extreme close-ups used throughout the film to close in on del Toro´s expressive eyes shows each wrinkle around the 41-year –olds eyes. Black levels are strong and aside from the intentional grain, "Things We Lost in the Fire" is impeccable. If only the colors weren´t as depressing as they are.
Sound:
The English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is not given a lot of room to shine in this front-heavy and dialogue-dependent mix. The DVD also provides French and Spanish 5.1 mixes and subtitles for all three supported languages. The musical score by Johan Soderqvist is minimalistic and does aid in conveying the emotions of the characters, but is easily overlooked during some of the more powerfully acted moments in the film. There are some ambient sounds provided, such as birds chirping or water splashing, but nearly everything is contained in the front three channels. Bass is hardly noticeable during the running length of the film. Dialogue is intelligible, but there were more than a couple instances where volume dropped low enough that I missed a few words and had to ´rewind´ to hear what I had not heard. The mix is clean, but uninspired.
Extras:
About a half an hour´s worth of supplemental materials is provided with "Things We Lost in the Fire." A twenty minute promotional making-of feature, A Discussion About Things We Lost in the Fire (20:24), features director Susanne Bier, writer Allan Loeb, producer Sam Mendes and stars Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro recounting their involvement with the film. This talking-heads production features a very minimal number of making-of moments and is mostly comprised of interview segments and footage from the film. It is formulaic, but the involvement of all key figures makes it almost worthwhile. The Seven Deleted Scenes (9:25) can be played collectively of separately. Two or three of them could have been left in the film and were nicely done, but another two or three of them deserved to be cut. The Theatrical Trailer and some Previews are also included.
Closing Comments:
I thought "Things We Lost in the Fire" was a film that rises to the occasion solely because of the incredible performance by Benicio del Toro. Del Toro is the actor that should have taken home the Oscar for the role of Jerry Sunborne. If it weren´t for del Toro, "Things We Lost in the Fire" would have been merely mediocre. The film digs too hard for emotional responses from the audience, but watching del Toro´s character battle his drug dependency is powerful entertainment. The DVD release of the film is hindered by an overly tame sound design and colors that are muted to the point of being depressing. The supplements are decent enough and a couple of the deleted scenes are definitely worth watching. If you want to see one of the best actors giving his best performance, than "Things We Lost in the Fire" will reward you with Benicio del Toro at his best.
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[release]22794[/release]