Frank Redmond (Peter Mullan) is not having a good
day. After decades of selfless devotion to his Glasgow
shipbuilding employer, he and a number of his mates have been made
redundant, laid off. He takes this blow as a betrayal, as he
makes clear to his former employer when called back to answer
questions about an industrial accident, “There isn’t one
man left who’ll piss on you if you were on fire.” As
someone who defined himself as the household breadwinner, he’s
lost all self-respect. He’s unable to deal with the
unemployment office; he doesn’t want to be on the dole, he wants
to work. He’s shamed by his wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn),
secretly training to become a bus driver to help support the
household. His anger is turned inward, complicated by long-
standing feelings of guilt over the death of one of his sons more than
twenty years before. He begins to show all the outward signs of
clinical depression, climaxed by a panic attack that puts him briefly
in hospital, another source of shame for the proud man. Frank takes solace in his daily laps at a local indoor pool.
And perhaps grasping for a dramatic but unlikely way to restore his
self-esteem, he’s inspired. He’ll swim the English
Channel. His quest becomes something of an obsession and, very
slowly, his mates, all of whom have their own self-esteem issues, are
drawn into his training, planning, and ultimate attempt. Not
everyone close to him is supportive. He keeps the plans from his
wife, who is very skeptical and concerned when she finally discovers
the truth. There are tensions with his adult son, Rob (Jamie
Sives), who is a stay-at-home dad as his wife goes off to work.
Rob suspects the emotional distance might be related to Frank’s
disapproval of his being not working for a living; after all, Frank
was defined by his role as provider. Rob also suspects that his
dad may blame him for his young brother’s fate. So Rob is
more concerned about mending a failed relationship than his
father’s seemingly outrageous ambition to swim the Channel.
Frank’s quest becomes the catalyst for transformation,
both his mates’ self-image problems and his ability to open up
emotionally for perhaps the first time in his life. The
screenplay by Alex Rose, peppered with sly humor, skillfully
manipulates the viewer with one emotional challenge after another and
with one resolution after another; not a single psychological problem
is left unresolved. And while the economic futures of the
unemployed haven’t improved as the end tiles roll, the emotional
journey is somewhat satisfying; these people will be able to cope with
their lives better for the experience. There is a considerable
emotional buildup to the Channel swim (which occupies far less of the
film than you might imagine) and I will not reveal whether Frank
succeeds.
The principals’ performances, and
Peter Mullan in particular, are consistently excellent. Mullan
effectively conveys the inner turmoil of rage and regret, then
transforms aimlessness and hopelessness into a quest that breaks
through his depression. Inhabiting stereotypically modest flats
and row houses, the characters portray quirky working-class.
Director Gaby Dellal composes his shots in direct proportion to the
emotional state of the scene, using extreme close-ups for
emphasis. Fortunately, this ensemble cast is well-acquainted
with the less is more approach to film acting, otherwise the results
would have been unintentionally laughable.
The
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film’s
theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video and
it’s surprisingly good. There are subtle halos of low
amplitude and of modest thickness; perhaps because the amplitude is
low, they are not intrusive. Small object detail and finely
grained textures are much better than average. Color rendition
is also outstanding, with natural skin tones and vivid reproductions
of more primary colors. I saw no smearing or chroma noise, but I
did see noticeable film grain in areas of low light. Shadow
detail is merely average. I didn’t notice any
macroblocking or mosquito noise. I suspect that with no
supplements and only one audio track, the compressionist could devote
virtually the entire bit budget to the video.
The
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital
5.1 track is quite nice. Surround effects seem more like 4.1
than 5.1; the surround sounds seem to collapse to the center surround
channel, so disable EX decoding. Deep bass is neither present
nor missed. Sound effects simply serve the images. The
score by Stephen Warbeck is orchestrated for a small ensemble.
Consequently, the recording is drier, captured in what sounds like a
small, relatively acoustically dead studio. The result has great
presence. The dialog is distortion-free throughout, which is
critical; some of the accents can get in the way of
intelligibility.
There is no alternate language.
Optional subtitles are in French, Spanish, and English.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
If
you exclude the three brief Universal trailers that
play when the disc is first loaded (Munich, The
Producers, and The Inside Man; 1:47), there’s not
a one, not even the film’s trailer.
The 99-
minute film is organized into twenty chapters.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the
disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features
on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
You’ll have one of two reactions to this film: life affirming
or annoyed by the emotional manipulation. Perhaps when I ran
this screener I was simply in the mood for a feel-good film, but
I’m leaning toward the former. It’s a little pricey
for a DVD with no content but the film, but at the very least you
should consider putting this one on your rental queue.
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