Synopsis
The setting is the imaginary Florida town of Delrona Beach. It isn’t the most attractive placein the world, and there are rival developers moving in, each with their own ideas on how theplace should be bought and remade. Some of the characters, such as Marly (Edie Falco) needto escape. Others, like Desiree (Angela Bassett) are, on the contrary, returning to their roots. Thescript is low-key and finely tuned, building toward small epiphanies. The characters are nicelyfleshed…out. Well worth checking out.
Audio
The music sounds terrific and the sound effects are pretty solid, creating a sometimes veryimpressive environmental effect (with some very nice left-right separation). The drawback,however, concerns the dialogue, which quite often distorts very noticeably.
Video
Just as there is some distortion in the dialogue, we also get some grain in the video transfer,only this is far less noticeable. There is also some edge enhancement visible. The contrasts aregenerally solid, with some night scenes looking very impressive indeed, though some dark sceneslose some contrast strength.
Special Features
The menu is basic, and the extras are limited. There are trailers for the Sayles films SunshineState, Limbo, Passion Fish, and The Secret of Roan Inish. The only other extra is thecommentary by director/writer/editor John Sayles. A fine commentary this is, though: veryarticulate, very informative.
Closing Thoughts
This was clearly a labour of love for Sayles, but it is one we can all enjoy. Greatperformances in the film, and an awesome commentary as a extra.
Special Features List
- Commentary
- Trailers
