Till Human Voices Wake Us DVD Review:


Synopsis

Pearce plays Dr. Sam Franks, an emotionally troubled psychologist who is traveling to the small Australian town where he was raised. It is an emotional journey that forces him to confront the memories of a long-ago summer that ended in tragedy - an incident that continues to torment him in his adult life.

Critique

Above all else, Till Human Voices Wake Us leaves me with the impression that I just watched poetry-slash-film. To call this a film is reasonable, and Director Michael Petroni moves the camera beautifully and brings in the music score accordingly. However, the film moves endlessly slow and gets lost in countless flashbacks. The flashbacks concern the past of Dr. Sam Franks, played by Guy Pearce (Memento), as a young boy. They also reveal that during one particular summer Sam (Lindley Joyner) spent most of his days with a Silvy Lewis (Brooke Harman), a young girl he liked very much. Petroni intercuts the flashbacks with scenes of the adult Sam Franks returning to his hometown. Despite the heavy use, the flashbacks play out nicely because of the performances by Joyner and Harman.

Moreover, the film relies on the relationship between young Sam and Silvy to parallel the life of the adult Sam as he searches for a meaning in his life. As Sam rides the train to his hometown he meets Ruby (Helena Bonham Carter), a mysterious woman. She turns up later in the film when Sam finds her in a river one rainy night; the film portrays this in a beautiful, haunting manner). Till Human Voices Wake Us includes some really nice moments. For example, Pearce and Bonham Carter share some great scenes together, walking at night and watching the river from a bridge. Their conversation benefits from realistic dialogue and reflects the flashbacks. These moments are enjoyable due to great performances.

Somewhere in this story there is a poem waiting to emerge. However, not enough story exists to make this film worthwhile, which is the ultimate flaw of Petroni’s screenplay. There are no easily identifiable subplots to co-exist with the main idea. There are hints at a broken relationship between young Sam and his father (Peter Curtin), which parallels the reason of the adult Sam returning home, though I don’t want to spoil the reason by naming it exactly. I wish there would be more meat to the script. Yes, it sets up Sam’s final revelation about the loss of his young love, Silvy.

However, the ending is unsatisfactory. For one thing, it appears to be poetic, I guess, just like the line, "Till human voices wake us and we drown," which concludes T.S. Eliot’s poem "The Lovesong of Alfred J. Prufrock." While this may seem right to the director, the ending doesn’t provide the viewer with the kind of closure that is demanded. Till Human Voices Wake Us spends more time citing and referring to Eliot’s poem than presenting a wholesome, worthwhile story. I like the film for its moments, but as a whole it’s a somewhat disappointing drama.

6 out of 10

The Video

Paramount presents Till Human Voices Wake Us in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The color palette looks fine, sometimes a little subdued. Color detail is fine also. The print image is free of compression artifacts or scratches, but grain does show up. Dark tones and black levels are inconsistent. Grain appears in most dark scenes, yet the transfer does a pretty outstanding job of making these scenes look good. Essentially, a lot of scenes in the film take place at night. Overall, Till Human Voices Wake Us looks very presentable.

8 out of 10

The Audio

Paramount presents Till Human Voices Wake Us in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Dialog is clear and easy to understand. Sound effects are limited, but the chirping of crickets and sound of the like occurs. Most of the soundtrack plays in the front, however. As a result surround usage is limited. On a positive note, the soundtrack sounds pretty accurate at high volume. Amotz Plessner’s music score comes across nicely and impacts the soundfield. Till Human Voices Wake Us sounds just fine.

You can also choose to view the film in English Dolby Digital Surround.

7 out of 10

The Extras

There are no extras. You can select to view the film with optional English subtitles. The DVD’s menus are not animated. The 96-minute feature is organized into fourteen chapters.

0 out of 10

Overall

Till Human Voices Wake Us does not have enough story to support a few great moments between Guy Pearce and Helena Bonham Carter. Performances are very good. The script is not. Paramount’s video and audio presentations are pretty good, and the lack of extras is a very weak spot. A commentary would have been genius for this film, since he’d have a lot to explain. As a result, Till Human Voices Wake Us can make for a light rental; see it for the performances only.

RATINGS SUMMARY

THE MOVIE 6
THE VIDEO 8
THE AUDIO
7

THE EXTRAS
0

OVERALL (not an average)
5

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