Featuring the fine acting of Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd the film All Is Bright comes to Blu-ray disc just in time for the holiday season. The drama has a very good compelling plot that draws you in till the very last word of dialogue. The film takes you on a heartfelt journey not like you’ve ever seen before.
Just getting out of prison after serving 4 years for robbery Dennis (Paul Giamatti) returns to his home in Canada. His wife Therese (Amy Landecker) has disowned him and has told his now 7-year-old daughter Michi (Tatyana Richaud) that he died of cancer. She turns him away telling him she wants to marry his best friend and former co-thief Rene (Paul Rudd).
Dennis’s first stop is a bar where Rene hangs out and confronts him with the news and a punch to show his disdain. When Dennis runs out of money and without any jobs in the Canadian town, he goes to Rene for help. Rene has a yearly Christmas tree run to New York and Dennis takes him along to share in the profit for a favor. When the two set up shop on a street corner they find that there’s more to friendship than being thieves.
I like the film very much the main reason being that it is different, interesting and out of the ordinary. The fine direction of Phil Morrison (Junebug) keeps the film moving into one situation after another with Dennis and Rene working their way in and out of some odd life choices. Although Paul Giamatti really doesn’t need a lot of help in the acting department, Morrison does make sure the camera gets a good amount of his face time. Giamatti is brilliant here and with his first time working with Paul Rudd, he proves he can work with any actor getting and giving an interesting performance.
I like Rudd in a good comedy and although he does provide some of the comic relief in All Is Bright, his dramatic side tips the scale his way in many scenes. He lifts the production to a level where it becomes a real happening with these two hapless friends that can’t seem to come to grips with the situation in which they find themselves.
Adding some of the heartfelt drama to the film, Sally Hawkins plays Olga a Russian dentist with a practice in New York who befriends Dennis after selling her a tree. She gives Dennis a chance to see light in his very sad situation. It’s her that makes the film work by providing the connection that will bring about the final resolution, and she does it extremely well.
The Blu-ray quality is very good, maybe a little too good because on a HD television the heavy necessary gain in night scenes becomes noticeable. It shouldn’t be a failure for most people as it doesn’t spoil any of the scenes interactions or storyline, but for purists it’s a disturbance. The film presentation on a 16×9 shows in letterbox with bars top and bottom, but it’s a matter of preference on my part that it fill the whole screen and not necessarily problematic.
The sound quality is very good with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1, but even if your television does not have the capability it’s still all good. The dialogue can be heard without distortion and the special effects sound comes in very clear.
All Is Bright has been rated R by the MPAA for language and brief nudity. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are very inappropriate for adolescents.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Amy Landecker, Tatyana Richaud and Sally Hawkins
Director: Phil Morrison
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language and brief nudity
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 47 min
Video Release Date: November 19, 2013
Original Film Release Date: September 10, 2013
Language: English & French Canadian
Format: Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1 “Letterbox”
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc + Ultraviolet
Distributed by: Anchor Bay Films
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
