Laurel Canyon DVD Review:


"Well who plans on a change of plan? I mean, that would be sort of paranoid, don't you think?" - Jane

Synopsis

With misgivings and outright dread, Sam (Christian Bale), newly graduated from Harvard Medical School, goes with his blue-blood girlfriend/fiancée Alex (Kate Beckinsale) back to his mother's house in Los Angeles while he begins his residency in psychiatry at UCLA. Estranged from his pot-smoking, sexually liberated, record producer mother, Jane (Frances McDormand), Sam finds her unchanged, except for her new boyfriend, a band singer named Ian (Alessandro Nivola). As Sam settles into his residency and is befriended by Sara (Natasha McElhone, he gently deflects their mutual attraction by his own loyalty to Alex, yet he eventually finds that, true to form, his mother and her lifestyle have yet again upended his own life.

Critique

There is some really cool atmosphere in Laurel Canyon, Lisa Cholodenko’s follow-up feature after High Art and an episode from Six Feet Under. Laurel Canyon reminds of Grand Canyon, a great film directed by Lawrence Kasdan (also Body Heat and The Big Chill), right after the first twenty minutes. The story is not the same, but the general feeling of the premise and the atmosphere is. Atmosphere is what Laurel Canyon offers aplenty, but what is a little disconcerting, however, is that the story really goes nowhere all too interesting.

That is, even though the story puts the aforementioned characters in a place where there are no boundaries, things are seemingly going on without a clear intention of where they want to go. It’s like the film is searching for a place to go. I sense there is something going on, deep inside the emotions of the characters. Character interactions are atmospheric and feel realistic, mostly due to the talents of the actors involved who make scenes good to watch. Christian Bale is a good choice for Sam, and he’s able to turn to more realistic character in this film than in American Psycho or Equilibrium, for example.

Furthermore, Bale carries himself very well and explores some interesting ground. His fiancé, Alex, occupies her time with a dissertation, but as Jane and the band interact more and more, she changes into a new type of person; one that is more outgoing and willing to try new things. All of this is nice, but only if the film just presents something for me to actually care for. Emotionally, these characters are a bit flat. There are scenes where characters share a moment, but that’s all. Laurel Canyon is full of moments, essentially, which is not enough to satisfy my tastes. At the end of the film, I just did not care much about these people and how they ended up. It’s a shame really, for Laurel Canyon displays some true likeness in the beginning.

Concisely, I did not dislike Laurel Canyon completely. There are some fine moments in between the uninteresting things. Perhaps my expectations turn on me once in a while, but I can’t say for sure. Laurel Canyon shows promise, but descends into a place known as Laurel Canyon where things are seemingly not very interesting or worth observing in close detail. Like Grand Canyon, this film wants to explore its characters and show how they change according to where their actions and emotions take them—a character study, if you will. Kasdan’s film achieves this type of storytelling very well, but Laurel Canyon just doesn’t pull you in like the latter film. Still, I respect this film for at least trying to tell a character-driven story.

6 out of 10

The Video

Columbia Tristar presents Laurel Canyon in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The print image looks fairly film-like and the transfer offers a warm presentation. Some small evidence of grain and dirt shows up, but nothing big. Colors are pretty nice, but not necessarily vivid. Color detail is fine. Dark tones and black levels are inconsistent, but have no detrimental effect on the presentation. Overall, Laurel Canyon looks warm and engaging; though it’s too bad the film is not exactly like that.

8 out of 10

The Audio

Columbia Tristar presents Laurel Canyon in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Dialog scenes are clear and easy to understand, except for a few instances where the volume needs adjustment (turning it up, that is). Most of the soundtrack emerges from the front speakers, which means surround usage is not a major player in this transfer. The opening sequence plays out nicely, however, with the song seemingly coming from all sides of the soundfield. Overall, Laurel Canyon sounds fine for the film it is.

7 out of 10

The Extras

Featurette (~21 mins) – Cholodenko sits in a chair inside the editing room talking up the film and the cast. It’s a general featurette focusing on the process of the production, such as getting the actors, rehearsing, shooting the scenes, etc. Clips of the film and behind-the-scenes footage show up here as well, but there’s no sign of the actors appearing in interviews, which would have been nice to see. Cholodenko is well spoken and carries this featurette quite well; very nice. Overall, this featurette is only decent and the likeness of it depends on your opinion of the film.

Commentary by Lisa Cholodenko – This track is generally conversational, but to some extend tends to repeat information contained in the featurette. Cholodenko touches on quite a lot of things here, such as talking about the actors and production. It’s a decent track, overall, and the value contained depends, again, on your opinion of the film.

You also get filmographies, a few TV spots, the film’s Theatrical Trailer and bonus trailers for All the Real Girls, Talk to Her and Love Liza. You can select to view the film with optional French subtitles (no English, weak). The DVD’s menus are not animated. The 103-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

4 out of 10

Overall

Laurel Canyon is kind of a disappointment after hearing mostly positive things about the film. I respect it for some fine moments where the characters interact naturally and engage in realistic dialogue. However, not enough is going on to make the film anything special. Columbia Tristar’s presentation of the film is pretty decent. The extras are fine and offer some value. Overall, Laurel Canyon can make a decent rental—it depends on your mood and expectation, however.

RATINGS SUMMARY

THE MOVIE 6
THE VIDEO 8
THE AUDIO
7

THE EXTRAS
4

OVERALL (not an average)
6

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