Plot: What’s it about?
Stoker is not a movie about vampires. Repeat – Stoker is not a movie about vampires. This is what happens when you literally judge a book (or as the case may be, a Blu-ray) by its cover. When picking out a movie to watch, this was one that arrived at my doorstep a few days earlier. I’d not heard of it, though the names Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman were certainly familiar. My wife asked what Stoker was about and me, being the academic I am, said, “I think it’s a vampire movie.” Oops. Well, in my defense, vampire movies are a dime a dozen and with a name like “stoker” I don’t think that conclusion was totally off base. But, once more with feeling, Stoker is not a movie about vampires. In all actuality it’s of Park Chan-wook’s (Oldboy) English film debut. Written by Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) the film is a bit hard to describe, though fans of Hitchcock will no doubt see the similarities between this and his fan favorite Shadow of a Doubt. Now that we know there aren’t any crucifixes or coffins, let’s see what it’s all about.
India (Mia Wasikowska) is a weird girl. She’s just lost her father (Dermot Mulroney) in a tragic car accident. Evelyn (Nicole Kidman), her mother, doesn’t really know how to handle the loss; that is until Charles (Matthew Goode), a mysterious uncle, comes into the picture. India is the epitome of a loner. She’s intellectual, is of course made fun of at school and seems to trudge through the days without ever cracking a smile. But what India really wants to know is they mystery of what happened to her father. She feels that Charles might be able to help, though she feels herself increasingly attracted to him in spite of what might or might not be going on between him and Evelyn. Things happen, people disappear and it’s not long before we get a glimpse into who and what Charles actually is. But is it a good thing or bad?
Stoker is actually hard to explain without giving away certain plot points. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. I’ll say that I’ve never seen Oldboy and this film initially put me off, though after a few days of thought, it grew on me. For starters, I really couldn’t figure out what time period the movie took place in until they mentioned that a bottle of wine was from 1994 “…the year you were born…” remarks Charles. The set design, clothes and even cars seem to scream 1950’s and I’m sure it’s one of many subtle tricks that Park Chan-wook has played on us. I mentioned this earlier, but there are some not-so-subtle references to Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. The film creeps along at a snail’s pace, but this isn’t a bad thing, per se. The performances are strong, particularly by Wasikowska, and Kidman once again turns in her “ice princess” role that she seems to have mastered with roles like The Stepford Wives and The Golden Compass. I’d almost say that this film warrants a repeat viewing, but just to clear the air – it’s not about vampires.
Video: How does it look?
One thing I’ll say about the film is that it’s one of the most visually-enticing movies that I’ve seen in a while. If you read the last paragraph above, you’ll see that I was fooled as to when this took place until they actually mentioned something from the 90’s. The costumes, set design and just about everything else in the film seems to scream 1950’s. That said, the 2.40:1 AVC HD image is nearly flawless. Kidman’s stark white, porcelain skin doesn’t look quite as smooth as it has in the past, though for a woman of nearly 50 I have to say that she still looks pretty darn good (way to go Botox!). And if we’re talking about good-looking, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Matthew Goode, speaking as a straight male even I have to say that the guy is easy on the eyes. Detail is immaculate, the film tends to skew toward a washed out color palette that’s bright. Really bright. Contrast and black levels work well off one another leading the way for a near perfect image.
Audio: How does it sound?
I wasn’t expecting such a robust mix from this movie (well I was actually expecting vampires, so if that tells you anything…) but the included DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is surprisingly…loud! Vocals are strong and well-centered, this makes for a very strong and lifelike mix that’s very appealing to the viewer. What really brought out the best in this mix was the use of the surrounds. They were used with the utmost precision and seemed to chime in at just the right time to heighten the mood. Couple that with the use of the low frequency effects (LFE) and you’ve got yourself one very impressive sound mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As much as I’d have liked to hear a commentary track by director Park Chan-wook, I don’t think he speaks English and even if he does, the commentary isn’t there. Still, maybe one by writer/producer Wentworth Miller? Right. Well, moving on we do find a fairly interesting documentary “Stoker: A Filmmaker’s Journey” that charts the process of the film from the script to the way it was scored and shot. They squeeze a lot in this 30 minute segment and it’s not to be missed. An extensive photo gallery and “London Theater Design” are both very interesting and some deleted scenes are thrown in for good measure. We get five short featurettes that show the making of the poster, the costumes and scoring the film. There’s some red carpet footage, a music video “Becomes the Color” by Emily Wells as well as a trailer.
