|
|
 |
All The Little Animals
R4 - Australia - DV1 Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (13th April 2005). |
|
The Film
 All The Little Animals is a film which very much plays out like a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale. On the surface there are heart warming scenes of uncomplicated beauty, which barely mask the anguish and dark despair that lies at the core of the piece. This is a simplistic film which uses a small cast and an even smaller setting to create a very clear allegory. Bobby Platt (Christian Bale) is a quiet and withdrawn young man, who is left mentally challenged after being injured in a car accident as a child. After the death of his mother, he is left in the care of his stepfather Bernard De Winter (Daniel Benzali). Bobby is terrified of De Winter, whom he nicknames ‘The Fat’, and rightly so. After De Winter tries to threaten him into signing away his inheritance, Bobby runs away to the English back country. Here he befriends Mr Summers (John Hurt), a recluse who has dedicated his life to the care of wild animals. But too soon De Winter locates Bobby, and the young man must confront his greatest terror. Bale’s performance is outstanding. His portrayal of a kind, but dim-witted young man is eloquent, at times hilarious and so often heart-rending. John Hurt also delivers a strong performance as the gruff and wise old hermit. Benzali’s stepfather is imposing and terrifying, but as an antagonist he is too shallow and without enough justification he comes across as very hollow. The movie is set primarily in Cornwall, England and the scenery is superb. The sunny fields and gentle hills are the perfect accompaniment to the youthful innocence of Bobby Platt. Unfortunately, the film is let down by a rather uninspired plot. It feels very much like Bobby learns what he needs to from Mr. Summers, De Winter hulks around when required and the audience has the deeper message wrapped up neatly and then forced down their throats. You may well find that you enjoy this film, but have very little worth saying about it at the end of the credits. Ultimately, All the Little Animals is a film about a fairly simple metaphor crafted into a regrettably mediocre plot. Breathtaking scenery and superb acting keep it from falling into banality, but do not do enough to make this film exceptional.
Video
For the most part the film is presented in an open matte 1.33:1 full frame ratio, however the opening credits are presented in 1.78:1 non-anamorphic widescreen and the end credits are presented in 2.60:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. The film’s original theatrical ratio is closer to 1.85:1, why then is this release’s ratio all over the place? Perhaps it has something to do with the source material, either way it’s a shame that the transfer has been butchered like this. Aside from this the image is generally quite good throughout, sharpness is not always consistent but doesn’t distract the viewer, colours are rich and vibrant, the overall image quality is acceptable but does have room for improvement.
Audio
The film features a soundtrack in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo only. For the most part dialogue was clear and distortion free and the music was mixed well despite the stereo track’s limited range, a 5.1 track could have improved things a lot considering the music plays a key role in the sound design, aside from the lack of range in the track there were no major flaws that I could detect. Unfortunately this disc does not feature any subtitles.
Extras
There are a series of four biographies for director/producer Jeremy Thomas, and cast members Christian Bale, Daniel Benzali and John Hurt. The bios are quite brief but cover a significant part of their careers. The film’s original theatrical trailer is also included and much to my surprise it was presented in 1.78:1 non-anamorphic widescreen, close to its original ratio. It runs for 1 minute 48 seconds. There are also a series of bonus trailers for Lush Life, Left Luggage and Nitti: The Enforcer Finally we also have the DVD credits, consists of a single text page with contact information.
Overall
All the Little Animals features some fine performances from the cast, especially Bale and Hurt who drive the film for the most part, however the film’s simple plot does stop it from crossing that line from ok film to good film. DV1’s disc is rather uninspired, presented in several ratios all of which are not the original, paired with an average soundtrack and extras that will take minutes to go through.
|
|||||
|