The name Mel Gibson causes a great number of people to break out in hives these days, a perfectly reasonable reaction in light of the star's recent behavior and history of manic episodes. However, for the purposes of this review, Gibson's violent behavior and association with industry leeches and creeps will be set aside temporarily to focus on the business at hand. Despite anger issues that could qualify the man as a genuine lethal weapon, Gibson is a fine actor with a history of iconic roles and emotionally charged performances. One of his most committed being 1996's "Ransom," where the screen idol teamed with director Ron Howard, an unlikely choice for such punishing material. The pairing defied the odds, turning a twisty tale of a cold-blooded kidnapping into a gripping mainstream diversion, generating an authentic ambiance of concern and frustration from material that's prone to melodramatic outbursts. Coming off an incredible year of big screen achievements (1995 saw the release of Gibson's "Braveheart" and Howard's "Apollo 13"), the duo cooled their career instincts to unearth atypical work in "Ransom." While a flawed, overlong offering of suspense, the movie retains a boiling core of tension, sold with an authentic feel for desperation by Gibson, who keeps the picture on task with his forceful, teeth-grinding work.
An airline magnate who's crossed into shady territory with unlawful union dealings to keep his business afloat, Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) is burdened with a troubled conscience, trusting in the love of wife Kate (Rene Russo) and son Sean (Brawley Nolte) to help him maintain his balance. When Sean is kidnapped during a Central Park science fair, Tom and Kate are flung into a full-blown panic, hunting high and low for their child without a single clue to assist their search, which soon attracts the attention of the F.B.I. and Agent Hawkins (Delroy Lindo). Receiving word that a significant ransom must be paid to retrieve Sean, Tom is more than willing to cough up the cash, putting faith in the cruel exchange. However, when the crooks decide to punish their mark on the way to financial reward, Tom changes the deal, using the ransom money to put a hit on the kidnappers. Realizing his devious plan of abduction isn't coming together as imagined, crooked cop Jimmy (Gary Sinise) increases his demands, threatening to kill Sean while his grungy, alcoholic underlings (including Lili Taylor, Liev Schreiber, Donnie Wahlberg, and Evan Handler) begin to crack under the intense media pressure, forcing the mastermind to engage in desperate measures to insure his dastardly payoff.
While flirting with the darkness in features such as "Backdraft" and "Parenthood" (don't kid yourself, some severe psychological events unfold in that wonderful picture), "Ransom" introduced a maturity to Howard's directorial career, burrowing into a bleak tale of loss and improvised revenge, working from a screenplay co-written by Richard Price ("Sea of Love," "The Color of Money"). There's no overriding novelty to "Ransom" that makes it stand up as blockbuster work, it's an intensity of thought that carries the picture from start to finish, finding Howard guiding his cast to pleasingly expressive performances that assist in the cinematic squeeze. Though his swirling camerawork and unforgivable use of step-printing dampens the intended effect, Howard is perfectly content to let his actors flail their way to irrational behavior, keeping the movie teeming with crying fits and constipated acts of confession. The emotional volatility wears comfortably on the cast with a few notable exceptions (the always charming Russo feels handcuffed by hysterics in a thankless role), yet Howard manages the flood of anguish quite well, sustaining the suspense and raising the stakes successfully. It's a skilled effort from the unfairly maligned filmmaker.
"Ransom" runs into a few troubling spots of character reveal along the way, with Jimmy particularly concerning. The script doesn't complicate the baddie's balance between his duty as a cop and his unrepentant greed, immediately displaying his true nature as the film's antagonist without much in the way of a suspenseful delay. Sinise follows suit with a one-dimensional performance of grimaces and barked orders, never capturing a duality of responsibility that could elevate Jimmy from a colorless scumbag to a truly combative foe that could plausibly outwit Tom during the course of the kidnapping event. The script cooks up helpful purging of intent with Jimmy's bitter recollection of the deceptive class hierarchy found in "The Time Machine," but there's little else to flavor the enemy. The flow of events also trips up the movie, with "Ransom" peaking early on during Tom's first monetary delivery, leaving the midsection to wallow in hopelessness for too long, climaxing with a slam-bang street chase that appears more like a studio mandate to please popcorn-munchers than a natural escalation of events. "Ransom" never derails, it just occasionally loses touch with the needs of the moment, reducing a critical sense of pressure on Tom, while the kidnappers also lose their sustained note of swelling fear.
In the end, Gibson remains, and his powerful purging of grief and guilt gift "Ransom" a satisfying sense of discomfort. Committing to the unsavory qualities of the character, Gibson creates a welcomingly flawed man faced with a horrible situation of loss, only to play his instincts while the world around him begs for procedural routine. Howard permits Gibson room to explore stomach-churning reactions to bad news, generating a vibrant compulsion to the personality that drives the plot superbly. It's a wounded approach that makes the outrageous turns of plot palatable, communicated by Gibson in a splendidly human manner, keeping the material approachable. I can't imagine what "Ransom" would've been like without his confidence and emotional nuance.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation retains only a moderate amount of grain structure, emphasizing a mildly filtered look that encourages some faint ghosting during particularly vigorous scenes of movement. Fine detail ranges from scene to scene, mostly making a crisp impression, with softness pulling textures out of fabrics, while a few wider shots lack facial feel, smoothed out some. Colors fare better, finding the particulars of NYC streets bringing out a lively palette, while the splattering of red blood makes a vivid impression, deepening the violence of the third act. Skintones feel natural with the occasional redness. Edge delineation loses impact with low-lit locations, finding blacks a tad solid. Daylight helps the image considerably, providing a full view of screen elements, supplying HD heft. Print looks nice, without any noticeable damage.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries itself comfortably, balancing the needs of the drama with the action elements that creep into the picture. Hushed acts of intimacy are easily understood and crisp, with a strong frontal position locking down emotional moments with comfortable clarity. Scenes with multiple characters fighting for verbal dominance are satisfactorily separated, nicely supported by the score, which carries itself powerfully without stepping on dialogue exchanges, offering a compelling circular sweep. Directional activity is limited but effective, selling helicopter and automobile movement, while the surrounds sustain crowd depth and Sean's sensorial disorientation. Low-end is rarely explored in detail. It's certainly not a dynamic track, yet it communicates suspense beats acceptably, supporting the visuals well.
Commentary with director Ron Howard is a little on the stagnant side, with the filmmaker getting too caught up in his own movie, leaving numerous gaps of silence and a general hesitation to deliver exhaustive BTS details. What's here is fine, with a few enlightening anecdotes emerging from an affable fellow (who apparently once shared a 10th grade class with Russo), yet there's no sensational string of reveals and memories, leaving the listen lacking content and inspiration.
Deleted Scenes (3:53, SD) are brief flashes of character, most devoted to Agent Hawkins and his efforts to endear himself to Tom and cool the demands of his superiors.
"What Would You Do?" (13:16, SD) is an unexpectedly technical featurette mixing post-release interviews with Howard and editor Dan Hanley with on-set platitudes from cast members, creating a compelling flow of information that's rewarding despite an overuse of movie clips employed as transitions. Personal response to the film's premise is also offered.
"Between Takes" (4:00, SD) collects some painfully awkward on-set interactions between Howard and his cast, with the emphasis here on comedy and Russo's general aversion to wearing pantyhose.
And an International Theatrical Trailer (1:06, SD) is included.
Despite a vaguely unsettled ending, "Ransom" is capable dramatic entertainment, featuring a few satisfying turns and an accessible feel of dread hanging over the kidnapping plot, which thankfully never slinks into sadistic developments. It's muscular work from Howard, continuing his interest in grittier filmmaking choices, meeting the demands of the trembling plot by keeping Gibson alert and invested, making sure the queasiness of the premise is captured as intensely as the suspense.
This year, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will bring over thirty catalog entries to Blu-ray. The scheduled films span across Disney's different distribution branches, and while the studio has previously hinted at certain titles - such as The Color of Money, ...
With three early retail announcements, Walt Disney Studios has revealed plans to release Blu-rays of the following titles from their Touchstone catalog - The Color of Money, Cocktail, and Ransom. The films are expected to street on June 5th.
