Incendiary Blu-ray despite great video and audio falls short as a Blu-ray release
London is rocked by a shocking terrorist bombing in this dramatic thriller starring Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy, Brokeback Mountain) and Ewan McGregor, (Trainspotting, the Star Wars trilogy). Williams delivers a riveting and heart-felt performance as a young wife and mother who suffers a devastating loss in the attack...which occurs while she's meeting her secret lover (McGregor). Wracked with guilt and trying to piece her shattered life back together, she becomes embroiled in the police investigation of the attack - and discovers that the authorities will do anything to cover up the terrifying truth behind it.
Most terrorism movies focus on politics or cat and mouse games between the good guys and bad guys, but Incendiary ignores that to showcase a more personal story. Instead of terrorists and intelligence agents, the film shows the sexuality and grief of a woman who takes her husband for granted until he and her four-year-old son are dead. While this seems like a decent idea for a film--too often, the effects of terrorist attacks on the living are ignored--critics blasted Incendiary for its writing, characters and plot. The only reason to watch the movie is Michelle Williams. Not only does she turn in a decent performance despite the embarrassingly poor script, but she's absolute magic on the screen. No matter how badly audiences want to run for the exit door, it is difficult to tear your eyes away. With the solid transfer to Blu-ray, it will be equally difficult to eject your disc. Williams' charisma is a 10, and the 1080p presentation of her glamorous looks make some frames of the movie seem like they could have been published in a magazine. Williams and Ewan McGregor early in the film can be seen shagging on a sofa in a way that doesn't leave much to the imagination. If that isn't enough to get you to buy the film, nothing will--because beyond seeing Williams' beauty, there is little reason to invest two hours in Incendiary.
The only reason to watch Incendiary is Michelle Williams.
The story kicks off as Williams' character plays with her cute young son. Trapped in London's East End in a loveless marriage, she sees off her husband and son (who are going to a soccer game) and promptly starts an affair with sleazy journalist Jasper Black (McGregor). As she and Jasper are having sex, her family dies in a terrorist bombing, leaving the young mother racked with disbelief, guilt, shock, grief and then experiencing a range of other emotions in her slow journey to recovery and forgiving herself. One of those "emotions" is apparently her desire for sex, which she indulges in with her husband's bomb-unit police colleague, Terrance (Matthew Macfadyen). The tale gets even more unbelievable when it turns out Terrance may have been able to prevent the bombing and didn't even try. As if that isn't weird enough, Williams' character (who is never identified by name at any point in the film), not only tries to befriend the young son of the bomber but ends up saving his life after a police chase. She has a delusional episode in which she is interacting with her son, who is of course dead, as well as another episode in which she teeters on the brink of suicide. I guess all this is part of the healing process, throughout which she is pursued by Jasper and Terrance. They like her because she does the "damsel in distress" routine so well and...just look at her.
Ultimately, Incendiary is an opportunity lost to explore the deeply personal emotions and heartbreak experienced by family members of terrorist victims. In a sense, the family has it worse than the victims who die, as their pain and grief go on and on for years. But rather than honestly explore this trauma and "unseen" effect of terrorism, Incendiary uses the unconventional romance and sexuality of its female protagonist as the major plot device from the very beginning, throughout the narrative and finally to drive the story to its perplexing conclusion. None of the actual terrorism or its effects seem real. Instead, we get an unbelievable mess of a movie, with a beautiful woman being pursued by two men she doesn't seem capable of loving after losing her husband, who she also didn't love, and son. The film fails on all levels. The sexual exploits of Williams' character are at odds with the terrorist story and cause the audience to be unsympathetic to her grief. This unsympathetic reaction essentially kills any chance of the film succeeding because any blame on the victims' family muddies the entire motivation for such a movie. But even if Williams' character was made to be sympathetic and accessible, the sketchy details of the actual terrorist attack and the characters' reactions lack authenticity, credibility and impact. To make matters worse, both Williams and McGregor seem miscast.
Like several other indy studios, Image has produced some fine 1080p transfers on Blu-ray and Incendiary is no exception. With its heightened contrast ratio and stylized camera work that complements the dramatic and emotional narrative, the film consistently maintains its unique look. Colors are brilliant and definition is resolved well, with deep blacks and an overall richness that makes viewing a delight. (If only the movie was any good.) Watch the scene where blimps signifying each victim hover in the sky. The skyscape of London appears with good resolution. Each window, column and architectural element of the buildings is rendered with a definition common to strictly above-average Blu-rays. Even the cranes in the distant background appear detailed. With an overcast sky, the contrast range is perfect. Scenes featuring close-ups and characters are often more stylized with focal elements allowing much of the picture to go soft. Combined with the blacks and shadow detail, the camera use provides good depth and at times an emotional impact missing from the narrative.
The audio performance, with its 24-bit, 48-kHz DTS-HD Master Audio track, is also impressive. Light on surround elements, the mix need not apply for home theater demo material, but it performs well nevertheless. Voices are clear and crisp with a deep soundstage eminating from the center. Treble is detailed and the midrange and bass are rendered well. The rear channels are employed sparingly and LFE content is kept to a minimum. Deep bass is virtually nonexistent but midbass has a linear response with the other frequencies. And even though the 48 kHz mastering is not much better than CD quality, the voices are delivered with crispness and realism, and not much "digititis". Overall, an admirable job by an indy studio.
The bonus material included with Incendiary is minimal, like many indy studios' releases. It only consists of photo galleries of the actors as well as a theatrical trailer in high definition. Having spent two hours watching a movie that was really not worth the time, I was a bit relieved that there was no need to wade through audio commentary or other bonus content.
In the 24-hour news cycle there are frequent headlines and reports of terrorist attacks and their perpetrators. Except in rare cases, the victims are only discussed in round numbers of casualties. This reporting has numbed most of us to the incalculable human loss that comes with terrorism and the death of innocents. Incendiary had a unique opportunity to cut through the news numbers and numbness and deliver emotional impact addressing terrorism's effect on the psyche. Unfortunately, it failed by focusing on the promiscuous nature of the "young mother" played by Michelle Williams, and by lacking in realism or emotional accessibility. Sharon Maguire wrote the screenplay based on Chris Cleeve's book and directed Incendiary. She should have known her protagonist was doomed from the start, no matter how admirable Williams' effort may have been. Apparently there was no way to make the "young mother" more sympathetic. Maguire's other characters were not much better. How realistic is it to portray a young journalist as a wealthy stud who drives a Maserati? Or to show a bomb-squad cop behave in the manner of Terrance? The good news is that Image continues to deliver technically high-quality Blu-rays, with good attention to picture and sound. With a hottie like Williams showcased, Incendiary should be easy to recommend, but the movie was a letdown in almost every way. Unfortunately, I can't even advocate putting it in your rental queue.
Image Entertainment has announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Incendiary', which is due to hit store shelves on May 5th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Video will be presented in 2.40:1 1080p video accompanied ...
