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The Son of No One
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Anchor Bay Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (28th July 2014). |
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The Film
 In the pantheon of cinema, it seems like one of the easiest, laziest tropes to trot out is the corrupt police procedural film. These things are pumped out at a rate so high no one could possibly see them all, not that anyone would want to because the average entry is a repetitive waste of time, talent, production, etc. This is where aging actors go to collect a steady paycheck, or where wannabe actors like Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson go in an attempt to hone skills (which, by the way, 50, ain’t working). Occasionally, rarely, one of these DTV disasters winds up being better than the pack and reminds viewers that some filmmakers are able to do it right; to imbue dead horse material with emotion and action in equal parts, delivering a compelling tale. More often than not, however, something like “The Son of No One” (2011) comes along and leaves viewers scratching their heads in wonderment, pondering how such banal crap ever got made. Even more confusing than its existence it the cast that signed on to star here; a cast that includes a handful of top tier talent that clearly showed up for the easy paycheck and nothing more. Only one actor doesn’t phone it in here, and he’s playing against type in a role so minor any unknown could have handled it just as well. All of this makes one wonder what kind of pull writer/director Dito Montiel must have in the entertainment industry, because the only thing impressive about his film is the cast he cajoled into appearing. The film bounces back and forth between 1986 and 2002, focusing on the violent childhood and clean-cut adulthood of Jonathan “Milk” White (Channing Tatum). As a youth, Milk gunned down a raging junkie in his Queens housing project when the man attempted to attack him. He and his friend, Vincent (Brian Gilbert), dumped the body in the trash, figuring no one would care about a dead drug addict. Then, a short time later another street urchin in his building attempted to once again attack him and Vinnie, which led to Milk pushing the man down the stairs and breaking his neck - both acts of self-defense; both against low-life scumbags who nobody would ever miss. Now, years later Milk is all grown up, with a wife and kid, working as a rookie cop in Queens. But his past is threatening to tear that all apart when a series of anonymous letters are being sent to the precinct in which he works, stating that someone knows what happened all those years ago. These letters are being leaked to a local reporter, Loren Bridges (Juliette Binoche), who has been warning the police that she is going to get to the bottom of the unsolved murders and secure justice for the victims. Justice. For two dead scoundrels that probably would have attacked her just as quickly. Sure, lady... Jonathan tracks down his old buddy Vinnie (Tracy Morgan), who is now little more than a mentally deficient walking vegetable, yet even after learning this Jonathan still thinks he might be the one talking. More letters surface, Bridges gets cocky before getting killed, and eventually the detective who helped Milk out as a kid, Stanford (Al Pacino) shows up to blackmail him with some stuff and… well, what does it matter? The ending is terrible. Who cares. Dito Montiel gets the only kudos he’s ever going to receive on this movie for assembling such an impressive array of talent. Either he knows a lot of secrets that big names don’t want getting out, or he’s got deep pockets, or maybe he’s just such a damn good salesman that he sold this pound of crap like it was imported chocolate. I don’t have the answers. What I do have is a deep regret for wasting 94 minutes of my life on such an insipid waste of time. Looking at the cast list alone, one could easily be fooled – Channing Tatum (who, after a rocky start in features is actually pretty good now), Al Pacino, Ray Liotta, Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes, Juliette Binoche. Not exactly a list to balk at. Granted, some of those listed have spent the last few years phoning it in, so their agreement to star in something so underwhelming isn’t a shock. Ray Liotta does this kind of movie in his sleep. If anyone is impressive, it’s Tracy Morgan simply because he’s playing way against type. Vinnie is a tired adult, mentally robbed and content to simply stand on a rooftop and stare off into space. He’s defeated in a lot of ways. Morgan sells his little part quite well, proving he isn’t always just about the laughs. Speaking of laughs, it’s too bad this film doesn’t provide them at least unintentionally. It commits the worst kind of cinema sin: it’s boring. The story is convoluted and ignorant to a fault. Why is there even a story here? Why did the cops cover up a decades-old case where a young kid killed two lowlifes trying to rob him? Why would anyone care to see that justice is served in that case? How could this ruin an entire police department? Why does the movie pretend we can’t tell the mystery voice making the threats to Jonathan’s family is clearly Ray Liotta? What exactly is Al Pacino’s character even doing here? Why does Channing Tatum even try to talk with an authentic Queens accent? And what’s up with his weak-a** little stache? Want to know who would like this movie? Your answer is in the title: No One.
Video
The one thing many of these horrible DTV titles have going for them is the ability to shoot an attractive picture thanks to modern cinematic technology. So, a film like “The Son of No One” can sport a 2.35:1 high definition 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image that looks about as pleasing as can be. There’s not much style to the film, and as a result the hi-def transfer is completely average in a “not much wrong with it” kind of way. The detail exhibited in facial closeups and clothing textures is impressive, though the same can’t be said of longer camera angles, where things soften up a bit. Skin tones look a bit warm in many scenes; in others they look spot-on. Black levels show a richness and depth, but sometimes nighttime shadows devour detail in images they shroud. Overall, the picture appears filmic and looks quite proficient.
Audio
An English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) carries the film’s audio, delivering an experience that is largely dependent on dialogue and not action. The spoken words come through balanced and centered, free from issue. The sound of Queens at night lends a nice touch of immersion, hearing the usual city chatter through the night. There are only a few moments of genuine impact, and they tend to stand out by breaking prolonged silence. A car crash halfway through explodes with force as the two vehicles collide. Gun shots, of which there are very few, sound realistic and pop with a loud burst. The film’s score is almost wall-to-wall, with cues popping up in just about every scene. The track may be subtle, but there’s a good deal going on there. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
It’s so hard to tell when Anchor Bay will decide to add some extras for one of its releases, and in this case they did. Among the few supplements are an audio commentary, extended scenes and theatrical trailers. The audio commentary features writer/producer/director Dito Montiel and executive producer/editor Jake Pushinsky. Montiel dives in first to provide some background on where the film’s story came from, what influenced him as a writer… you know, most of the expected anecdotes. And then there are gaps of silence that start to occur almost instantly. The track itself isn’t anything worthwhile, and when you consider it requires watching the movie a second time, well, I think that’s an easy call to make. A reel of extended scenes (1080p) runs for 6 minutes and 27 seconds. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 29 seconds. Bonus trailers (1080p) are also included for the following: - “Catch .44” runs for 2 minutes and 6 seconds. - “Kill the Irishman” runs for 2 minutes and 8 seconds. - “Texas Killing Fields” runs for 2 minutes and 16 seconds. - “The Divide” runs for 1 minute and 54 seconds.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in an amaray eco case.
Overall
Great cast, terrible movie. Skip it and spend your time on something else.
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