FRAILTY
($25) is a tense and an intense thriller, as well as being a surprisingly
assured directorial debut from actor Bill Paxton. In some ways FRAILTY
is an old fashioned movie, insomuch that there is little blood and gore on
display, plus there are allusions to films like HUSH, HUSH, SWEET
CHARLOTTE and STRAIT-JACKET, in which bloodless axe murders
were prominently featured. Still, FRAILTY comes like a bolt out of
the blue- a genuine surprise of a movie that provides jolts, while it
firmly holds the viewer in its grip. Told in flashback, FRAILTY
plays like a little southern gothic with its tale of madness, religious
mania and serial killings that span two generations.
On
a rainy Texas evening, a man named Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey)
walks into the FBI office and announce that he knows the identity of the
long sought "God's Hand" serial killer. Fenton then recounts the
tale of his childhood, in which his seemingly normal widowed father
announces in the middle of the night that he has been visited by an angel
who has told him that he has been chosen by God to rid the world of demons
that have taken human form. What follows are Felton's childhood
recollections of the abductions and brutal axe killings that came at the
hands his father, as well as the effect that his father's mania has on
Felton's more impressionable younger brother Adam. As gruesome and
disturbing as FRAILTY sounds, the film rises well above my
description of the material thanks to assured performances from
McConaughey, Powers Boothe as FBI Agent Wesley Doyle and Bill Paxton as
the boys' father. Additionally, much of the film's weight is carried on
the shoulders of young performers Matthew O'Leary and Jeremy Sumpter, who
portray Felton and Adam. Both of whom deliver natural, unfettered
performances, which goes a long way to enhance the story’s believability
and to give it a must more disturbing edge.
Lions
Gate Home Entertainment has made FRAILTY available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a very good-looking transfer of a modestly budgeted
film. In general, the image is sharp and well defined. There is a bit of
softness here and there, but nothing really worth noting or complaining
about. Colors have a solid level of saturation and the flesh tones appear
quite natural. Blacks are pretty pure and the contrast is generally
smooth. Shadow detail is good, but not quite at the level of a larger
budget movie. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts
well concealed.
FRAILTY
features a very effective Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. The entire
sound field is pretty active, although not with the kind of sound effects
that draw attention to themselves. There is a lot of subtlety in the sound
design, as well as effects that highlight the film's more intense moments.
Additionally, the mix is rather ambient and natural sounding much of the
time, with the surround channels enhancing the film's sense of atmosphere,
as well as providing fill to Brian Tyler's musical score. Dialogue is
crisp and always completely understandable. The bass channel is solid
enough to give the necessary oomph to key moments. There are no other
language tracks on the DVD, but there are English and Spanish subtitles
included.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's stylishly somber interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and set up
features, as well as a nice complement of supplemental features. Like the
movie itself, the supplements are something of a surprise, as FRAILTY
the DVD features three separate audio commentaries. On the first track is
director/star Bill Paxton, on the second is producer David Kirschner,
editor Arnold Glassman and composer Brian Tyler, while the third features
Brent Hanley. All three commentaries look at the material from different
perspectives, but the average viewer should definitely start with Paxton,
and then decide if they want to continue on to the other two tracks.
The
Making of Frailty featurette
runs just under twenty minutes and is stronger on content than a typical
program of this type. Anatomy of a Scene is a twenty-five
minute program from the Sundance Channel that focuses on the complexities
and the movie magic behind one of the film's key sequences. Over eight
minutes of deleted scenes are also included on the DVD, and they are
viewable with the option of director's commentary. A still gallery,
storyboards and theatrical trailer close out the DVD's supplements.
FRAILTY
is a surprising good gothic thriller that proves that small movies have
the capacity to outshine the over-budgeted blockbusters that Hollywood has
made into their bread and butter. This standout directorial debut from
Bill Paxton will probably get more exposure on DVD than it did in the
theater, which is fine since Lion's Gate has produced a disc with a solid
presentation and a strong supplement section. If you missed FRAILTY
in the theater, don't miss it on DVD.
FRAILTY
($25) is a tense and an intense thriller, as well as being a surprisingly
assured directorial debut from actor Bill Paxton. In some ways FRAILTY
is an old fashioned movie, insomuch that there is little blood and gore on
display, plus there are allusions to films like HUSH, HUSH, SWEET
CHARLOTTE and STRAIT-JACKET, in which bloodless axe murders
were prominently featured. Still, FRAILTY comes like a bolt out of
the blue- a genuine surprise of a movie that provides jolts, while it
firmly holds the viewer in its grip. Told in flashback, FRAILTY
plays like a little southern gothic with its tale of madness, religious
mania and serial killings that span two generations.
On
a rainy Texas evening, a man named Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey)
walks into the FBI office and announce that he knows the identity of the
long sought "God's Hand" serial killer. Fenton then recounts the
tale of his childhood, in which his seemingly normal widowed father
announces in the middle of the night that he has been visited by an angel
who has told him that he has been chosen by God to rid the world of demons
that have taken human form. What follows are Felton's childhood
recollections of the abductions and brutal axe killings that came at the
hands his father, as well as the effect that his father's mania has on
Felton's more impressionable younger brother Adam. As gruesome and
disturbing as FRAILTY sounds, the film rises well above my
description of the material thanks to assured performances from
McConaughey, Powers Boothe as FBI Agent Wesley Doyle and Bill Paxton as
the boys' father. Additionally, much of the film's weight is carried on
the shoulders of young performers Matthew O'Leary and Jeremy Sumpter, who
portray Felton and Adam. Both of whom deliver natural, unfettered
performances, which goes a long way to enhance the story’s believability
and to give it a must more disturbing edge.
Lions
Gate Home Entertainment has made FRAILTY available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. This is a very good-looking transfer of a modestly budgeted
film. In general, the image is sharp and well defined. There is a bit of
softness here and there, but nothing really worth noting or complaining
about. Colors have a solid level of saturation and the flesh tones appear
quite natural. Blacks are pretty pure and the contrast is generally
smooth. Shadow detail is good, but not quite at the level of a larger
budget movie. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts
well concealed.
FRAILTY
features a very effective Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. The entire
sound field is pretty active, although not with the kind of sound effects
that draw attention to themselves. There is a lot of subtlety in the sound
design, as well as effects that highlight the film's more intense moments.
Additionally, the mix is rather ambient and natural sounding much of the
time, with the surround channels enhancing the film's sense of atmosphere,
as well as providing fill to Brian Tyler's musical score. Dialogue is
crisp and always completely understandable. The bass channel is solid
enough to give the necessary oomph to key moments. There are no other
language tracks on the DVD, but there are English and Spanish subtitles
included.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's stylishly somber interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and set up
features, as well as a nice complement of supplemental features. Like the
movie itself, the supplements are something of a surprise, as FRAILTY
the DVD features three separate audio commentaries. On the first track is
director/star Bill Paxton, on the second is producer David Kirschner,
editor Arnold Glassman and composer Brian Tyler, while the third features
Brent Hanley. All three commentaries look at the material from different
perspectives, but the average viewer should definitely start with Paxton,
and then decide if they want to continue on to the other two tracks.
The
Making of Frailty featurette
runs just under twenty minutes and is stronger on content than a typical
program of this type. Anatomy of a Scene is a twenty-five
minute program from the Sundance Channel that focuses on the complexities
and the movie magic behind one of the film's key sequences. Over eight
minutes of deleted scenes are also included on the DVD, and they are
viewable with the option of director's commentary. A still gallery,
storyboards and theatrical trailer close out the DVD's supplements.
FRAILTY
is a surprising good gothic thriller that proves that small movies have
the capacity to outshine the over-budgeted blockbusters that Hollywood has
made into their bread and butter. This standout directorial debut from
Bill Paxton will probably get more exposure on DVD than it did in the
theater, which is fine since Lion's Gate has produced a disc with a solid
presentation and a strong supplement section. If you missed FRAILTY
in the theater, don't miss it on DVD.
