Monster's Ball DVD Review:


The Movie

Hank (Billy Bob Thornton) is an embittered prison guard working on Death Row who begins an unlikely, but emotionally charged affair with Leticia (Halle Berry), the wife of a man under his watch on Death Row.

Monster's Ball is a film about intersecting lives that is brutish, virtuous, repugnant and convalescent all in one. There is no denying the power of this film. Thornton's reserved character shines, but for Berry, this is indubitably a big screen breakthrough; she combines a brilliant beauty and talent in her character Leticia. I have to hand it to director Marc Forster, he displays a gift for creating a characteristic film from which his key figures endure a struggle to regain their balance. The film shows us optimism.

Monster’s Ball has scenes that simply need to be seen to grasp the full depth of the character’s gloom and to become captivated by the plot. This is a hard-smacking drama tempered by a story of forceful, life-alternating love.

The Video

Monster’s Ball appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Sharpness appeared solid. No problems with jagged edges. I did notice a couple of signs of edge enhancement and light grain at times, as well as speckles and streaks. Colors were natural and realistic. Black levels were deep, shadow detail was appropriately heavy. Nonetheless, I found the picture of Monster’s Ball to provide a satisfying experience.

The Audio

Monster’s Ball Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack displayed a fair sound presence. This is not a very active film so surrounds usually came to life during a few scenes; audio quality was positive. Dialogue sounded natural; bass response was deep and tight. Overall, the soundtrack was effective for this type of movie.

The Extras

There are two audio commentaries on this disc. The first is by director Marc Forster & director of photography Roberto Schaefer and the second, more entertaining is by actors Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton and director Marc Forster. We also get several deleted scenes. Some are extended scenes while others are cut scenes altogether. Another fun extra on this disc are the outtakes, which total about five minutes (Billy Bob turns in a Sling Blade performance at one point). On top of that, there is an interesting "Making of the Music" featurette. Oh, and let's not forget the theatrical trailer.

Overall

Monster’s Ball is a painful journey toward restitution and Forster is able to capture this reality effectively. Monster’s Ball DVD presentation is good, but not exceptional. The audio sounds affective and the disc includes a good portion of extras. If you liked Monster’s Ball, you’ll be pleased with this DVD. As a whole, this was a consequential film, and the movie deserves a look due to its inspiring plot. I highly recommended it.

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