Plot: What’s it about?
Luis Vargas (Antonio Banderas) has wealth and health, but wishes to have a love in his life, so he makes some plans to be married. But he has never even seen his future bride in person, as the two have only written back and forth, since she lives in America. Her photos reveal her to be plain, but not unattractive, which is enough to satisfy Vargas. When she arrives however, he discovers that she has bent the truth quite a bit, as she is a ravishing beauty named Julia (Angelina Jolie). She says she sent the plain photos to make sure he wanted her for who she is, instead of what she looks like. Vargas cannot be too upset, as he told her he was a simple worker, not the successful businessman he is in reality. It all seems to have worked out rather well for Vargas, but soon enough, some problems begin to surface. A letter arrives from Julia’s sister asking why she hasn’t written, a private detective starts to ask questions, and Vargas begins to have some issues of his own with Julia. But is all of this just some common misunderstandings, or does Julia have some kind of scheme to put into action?
This film came and went in theaters with little fanfare, even though it was hyped to contain some very intense sex scenes. But even though it tanked at the box office, MGM has issued a nice overall disc and they’ve even given us an unrated edition, with additional footage not shown in the theatrical version. I have to admit, I expected this to be like The Red Show Diaries, with the focus on the sexual content, which would leave story & acting out in the cold, but Original Sin threw me off base from the start. This plays more like a traditional thriller than erotic picture, but of course, sex is featured in more than one scene. In truth, the sex scenes often detract from the flow and texture of the movie, as if they were inserted after the fact, to enhance the film’s appeal and perhaps pull in more viewers. But for those of you who just want to see Jolie’s assets on display, you’ll be well served with Original Sin, to be sure. In the end, Original Sin has a great cast and some good sex scenes, but never gets much steam as a thriller. Even so, it is worth the price of a rental, but make sure you get this unrated edition, not the theatrical version.
She has started to climb the ladder of success in the business, but in my opinion, Angelina Jolie still has a long trek in front of her. I think her best work was in Gia or Girl, Interrupted, the kind of roles she doesn’t seem to want these days, given their lower budgets and focus on performance, as opposed to showing off flesh. I like to see Jolie’s breasts as much as the next fellow, but I wish she could focus on better material, surely she can reveal her chest in a period piece or what not, to please both crowds. In her defense however, she is more than acceptable here and has some great chemistry with Banderas, so not all is lost. Other films with Jolie include Tomb Raider, The Bone Collector, Foxfire, Hackers, and Playing God. The cast also includes Antonio Banderas (Desperado, The Mask of Zorro), Thomas Jane (Deep Blue Sea, Boogie Nights), and Jack Thompson (Breaker Morant, The Man from Snowy River).
Video: How does it look?
Original Sin is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is easily one of MGM’s finest efforts of late, with an image that comes so close to perfection, save a few very small hiccups. In truth, these minor issues are so small, I see no reason to discuss them and in the end, I feel this transfer deserves marks of near reference level. The print looks clean and sharpness is excellent, except for the moments where softness is intentional, which are frequent in Original Sin, due to the time period portrayed. I found the colors to be warm and lush, with no flaws in the least, while black levels were on the mark throughout also, terrific work indeed. I commend MGM’s treatment of Original Sin and am glad that no pan & scan option was included, let’s hope we see more widescreen only releases down the road from MGM.
Audio: How does it sound?
I didn’t expect too much from the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but it handles the material well and even sparks up the system in a few scenes. The notable scenes have good atmosphere, which pulls us into the movie and that’s good, especially in a film like this, with all the twists and turns to be seen. The music sounds terrific here and comes to life quite well, using the surrounds to immerse the viewers, very cool stuff. I do think more subtle use of the surrounds would have been nice, but dialogue is clean and sharp, and no real problems emerge, so I am marking this one a shade above average. This disc also includes French, Spanish, and Portuguese audio options, as well as subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This is not a loaded special edition, but it does have a few extras, including an audio commentary track from director Michael Cristofer. Although Cristofer sometimes lapses into telling us what is happening on screen, he has a lot of good information to relay here, especially about how the film came to be in the first place. I wish he could have remained as on topic throughout, but in the end, this is still a solid track and is worth a listen for fans. This disc also includes some still photos, a Gloria Estefan music video, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
