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The Odd Life of Timothy Green
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Disney Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (22nd June 2013). |
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The Film
 “Please don’t ask about my leaves.” Have you ever wanted to have a child so badly, you buried a box of wishes and wants in your garden, hoping against all hope that one day the paper-scrap seedlings would mature, and your offspring would sprout up from the ground? No? Really? I thought that box-burying business was a universal thing. I mean… I suppose I should admit I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention in health class… and I guess I should ask, that is how babies are made, right? All kidding aside, the unbelievably unusual premise of “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is the biggest obstacle blocking my ability to fully embrace the film, and one of the many reasons it’s a messy movie. Messier even than poor little Timothy—who does indeed sprout out of the ground, all muddy and ruddy, and soaked through from a nights rain—after his parents, Cindy (Jennifer Garner) and Jim Green (Joel Edgerton), find him in their garden after a previous day’s drunken doodling, push of a plow, and a touch of miraculous (wholly unexplained) magic resulted in a planted pod sprung up and bearing the fruit of a fully formed child. Well meaning through it is, and precious premise aide, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is still a meandering, at times maddening, movie. The structure makes no sense whatsoever—the entire picture is told in flashback, as Cindy and Jim recount their tall tale to an adoption agent (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who, for some reason, not only doesn’t have them hauled off to a mental hospital the second they lay into their insane fable of fantastical frenzy, but sits idly by for the 2 hour runtime, listening intently, and constantly asking the perfect questions for the sake of clarity, or to take the tale down another tangent. It’s a lazy bit of screenwriting, and every cut back to the adoption agent’s office kills any momentum the picture had built up, leaving the loosely connected story unable to put down deep enough root for a more elaborate or consistent plot. Tortuously twisting through with little rhyme or reason, like some unwieldy vine, and falling victim to several lapses in logic, the screenplay and overall production suffers from a lack of focus and purpose. Holding together the otherwise patchwork nature of the narrative are a pair of passable—if thoroughly unextraordinary—performances from stars Garner and Edgerton, and a surprisingly strong turn from newcomer CJ Adams (whose only previous credits include director Peter Hedge’s earlier film, “Dan In Real Life” (2007)) in the role of the eponymous Timothy Green, the bright boy with leaves on his legs. Taking a break from being the best mom ever to Ben Affleck’s kids, Garner plays Cindy as a woman who desperately wants a chance to be the best mom ever of a child not fathered by the director of “Argo” (2012). Edgerton, taking a break from his day job as a Kurt Russell look-alike, plays a guy who looks a lot like young, beardless, Russell while equally pinning away to be the best father ever of a child without a shred of Affleck DNA. But, because both, or at least one, of the Green’s are infertile, the couple can’t have kids, and adoption only occurred to them after they did the box-burying voodoo that brought about their magical young man who is perfect… but not too perfect (he’s honest, but to a fault)… just as they wished. Writer/director Peter Hedge’ film is a too episodic, and constructed in cliché, for its own good. His supporting characters, too, are either cartoonish or cardboard cutouts simply propped up to push the plot along. In the place of a straightforward story, Hedges leaves a series of vignettes—a scrapbook of scenes from Timothy Green’s very odd life and those around him—more closely categorized as barely interconnected ideas than an actually coherent character arc. These vignettes often seem like castoffs—orphans, if you will—for other, better, films about family and parenting, or worse yet, not even better films, but perhaps the actual lives of the cast and crew, compete with what assumes are their own in-jokes. Jim teaches Tim to play soccer, replete with the typical dad butting heads with a coarse coach (played by Common) routine, while also battling daddy issues of his own. Jim’s own father (a sleepwalking David Morse) was more neglectful than nurturing. And somehow, in one of many subplots, father and son work through these issues literally on the sidelines of the game. Cindy has familial foibles of her own to work through; her relationship with a more fertile sister (Rosemarie DeWitt, seemingly reheating her overbearing older sister character from “Rachel Getting Married” (2008)) could be considered a combative companionship in nice terms. We watch the Green’s through good—fun picnics with favorite family members (including Cindy’s aged aunt played by Lois Smith and uncle turned father surrogate played by M. Emmet Walsh), Timothy’s triumphant first soccer goal, and impromptu a cappella performances of “Low Rider”—and the bad—sorrowful goodbyes with those same favorite family members on their deathbed, the terrible realization that Timothy first scored goal was for the other team, and that insufferable a cappella performance of “Low Rider”. The film has an endless supply of subplots, some sweet, some stranger than the silly premise of a boy born up from the ground like a plant. An aside with a character played by Odeya Rush, as the object of Timothy’s precious pre-teen desires, is charmingly cute—and the whole thing, from Jim’s concerned fatherly commentary on the wonders of wooing women, to Cindy’s worry of being replaced by her son’s first love has enough to fill a single film all its own. Alas, its cut short, like so many of the storylines; trimmed to take the tale in another direction. Direction that are so silly, they undermine the whole production. Both parents have trouble at work. Cindy’s boss (Diane Wiest) at the Stanley pencil museum—don’t ask—is rude and intimidating. Jim’s boss (Ron Livingston) at the Stanley pencil factory is a joyless jerk on the brink of closing the entire operation down. And the climactic catharsis of these two storylines coming together is a contrived concoction to say the least. It’s an odd part of a strangely disconnected movie, but par for the course I suppose, as the intertwining of the two subplots is somehow integral to the survival Stanley pencil, and cementing the Green family name, even if its ultimately still superficial. Perhaps oddest of all—even odder than the premise, plot structure, or untidy tonal shifts—is that, there are things that I liked about this weepy, manipulative, little family movie. A deeper theme runs beneath the surface—one about the true meaning of family and what it is to love unconditionally—but sadly this theme is never fully developed or addressed in a less conceptual, coherent way. A better movie might have cutaway the overgrown subplots, and trimmed the picture to focus solely on the similarity and differences in the script’s three most important couples—Timothy and his little girlfriend, Jim and Cindy, and the latter’s aged aunt and uncle—and their interrelated relationships. On a more technical level, “The Odd Life” is of the highest quality. The colorful cinematography by the talented John Toll, earthy production design by Wynn Thomas, and lush score by Geoff Zanelli are all aces. And although it may make many a misstep along its way, “Timothy Green” isn’t terrible. It’s just, perhaps, too twee and tangled for its own good.
Video
Perpetually cast in the warm glow of autumn, and shot almost exclusively at magic hour, John Toll’s gorgeous cinematography is without doubt the best thing about “Timothy Green”, and it translates beautifully to Blu-ray. The 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded disc is, in a word, perfect. Framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, the transfer has thin bars on the top and bottom of the frame preserving the theatrical ratio. Shot on 35mm film, and finished on a 2K DI, the blu-ray remains wonderfully filmic with a faint, refined layer of grain. Colors are vibrant, with gorgeous greens, oranges, rich reds and deep browns. Contrast is clean, with crisp whites and a deep and satisfying black level, with excellent shadow delineation. (The picture is rarely dark anyway, but when it is, it’s still stunningly without flaw). Detail is astonishing; many frames are packed with extraordinarily defined foliage and textiles that have a near tactile texture. Initially, edge enhancement was an errant worry, but only because the picture is at times so sharp I feared it had been artificially manipulated into that state; fortunately, the razor sharp picture and accompanying clarity appears a result of Toll’s expert photography and not disingenuous digital tinkering. Likewise, uneccesary noise reduction is a non-issue, and artifacts are kept in check by careful compression. “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a bit of a middling mess as a film, but it has a faultless video presentation.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) track’s high point hits early, about 20 minutes in, during the downpour the titular leaf-legged little one arrives in. Thunderclaps are supported by deep, rumbling bass, and the rain fills the full 360-degree soundfield with a fury. The film never quite hits that high again—except at the end when a similar storm takes Timothy away—but dialog reproduction remains outstanding throughout, and Geoff Zanelli’s enchanting score—and the additional track written and performed by Irish actor/guitarist Glen Hansard, star of “Once” (2006)—sounds superb in lossless. Other options include English Descriptive Video Service Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles available in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Disney’s 2-disc offering includes an audio commentary with director/writer Peter Hedge, two featurettes, a music video, 5 deleted scenes with optional commentary, bonus trailers and a DVD copy of the film. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY Director/writer Peter Hedge has quite a lot to say in his audio commentary. It’s a shame so much of it isn’t particularly interesting. Although Hedges covers all the bases—talking about his earlier films, how “Timothy” was born, working with the cast, and the specifics of certain scenes— his dry delivery leaves a lot to be desired. With teary eyes and a shaky voice, director/writer Peter Hedge takes viewers through the conception of Timothy Green in a featurette titled “The is Family” (1080p, 10 minutes 12 seconds). Various members of the cast and crew appear in this piece, which is slightly above-average EPK fluff, talking about family and making the film. Hedges, composer Geoff Zanelli and Glen Hansard discuss the music and sound of the film in a featurette called “The Gift of Music” (1080p, 9 minutes 15 seconds). I’m always glad to see the oft-neglected combo of composer/soundtrack get their due in supplements, so this piece is a nice surprise. Zanelli talks cues, the film’s three main themes and character motifs and gives lots of insight into his work on the film. There’s also some discussion from Hedges and musician Hansard about the film’s song “This Gift”. A music video for “This Gift” (1.85:1 widescreen 1080p, 4 minutes 41 seconds) performed by Glen Hansard has also been included. 5 deleted scenes (1.85:1 widescreen 1080p, 5 minutes 46 seconds, play all) are viewable with or without audio commentary from Peter Hedge. The scenes are: - “Remembering Bubbles”—a long scene at a funeral. - “Neighbor”—“Damn leaves, they just keep fallin’!” says a neighbor to Timothy Green, as he rakes the yard. - “Discovery”—Cindy learns of Timothy’s little girlfriend. - “You’re a Ficus”—botanist Reggie (Lin-Manuel Miranda) reveals Timothy’s “roots”… - “A Mess”—the neighbor returns to find Jim digging in the dirt at night. Pre-menu bonus trailers are included for: - “Oz: The Great and Powerful” (2.40:1 widescreen 1080p, 1 minute 51 seconds). - “Finding Nemo” (1.78:1 widescreen 1080p, 1 minute 9 seconds) and Blu-ray and on Blu-ray 3D combo pack. - "Disney Movie Rewards" promo (1080p, 20 seconds). - “Bunheads” (1080p, 31 seconds) on ABC Family. - "Frankenweenie” (1.85:1 widescreen 1080p, 1 minute 21 seconds) on Blu-ray and on Blu-ray 3D combo pack. - “Peter Pan: Diamond Edition” (1.37:1 1080p, 1 minute 34 seconds) on Blu-ray. - “The Muppet Movie: Nearly 35th Anniversary Edition” (1.85:1 widescreen 1080p, 1 minute 8 seconds) on Blu-ray. - "DisneyFile Digital Copy" promo (1080p variable AR, 1 minute 4 seconds). The Blu-ray disc is authored with the resume playback function. DISC TWO: DVD The second disc is a full retail DVD-9. The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DVS 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English, French and Spanish. Special features include the music video, deleted scenes and bonus trailers from the Blu-ray.
Packaging
Disney brings “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” to blu-ray in a 2-disc combo pack. The film and special features are encoded in high definition on a region free BD-50. A standard definition copy of the film is pressed on a Region 1 locked DVD-9. Both discs are housed in an eco-case. A slip-cover has been included in first pressings.
Overall
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” has its moments of manipulation, share of characters conceived from a concoction of clichés, and an undoubtedly odd premise that asks for perhaps too great a suspension of disbelief. But, tangled in there somewhere is solid sentiment and a worthy message of family and what it means to love unconditionally, anchored by some fine performances and terrific technical work. The film is messy, and never quite comes together, but Disney’s Blu-ray has outstanding A/V, even if it is lacking in more substantial extras. Worth a look.
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