Sony has brought this digitally shot indie to a MPEG-4 AVC 1080p Blu-ray is a nicely natural way. Shot on a RED Camera, the drama doesn't look overtly clean, but carries a toned down look that brings a film quality while keeping the clarity of digital cinematography. Some of the brighter daylight scenes have that high-def 3-D quality to them. The color palette is full of earthy tones in the costumes and settings. The balance of the "hippie" vibe between the brighter elements is handled well creating a warm and inviting feeling throughout. Blacks are inky throughout too. Digital anomalies are pretty non-existent, except for a few fleeting banding moments.
While this is a quieter film sonically, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is still well done. The dialogue is clean. The balance between the sound elements – dialogue, music and sound effects – is handled well. The score and the ambient music are perfectly rendered. This is where the LFE track comes in nicely. A bus crash also gets the bass booming too. The ambience across the sound field is subtle, but effective. Directionality is pretty much not present, but not missed either.
The disc features a nice collection of special features. The audio commentary from actress/director Vera Farmiga, actor Joshua Leonard and producer Renn Hawkey (or Farmiga's husband) gives fans a nice balance between artistic and thematic discussion and stories from the set. "The Substance of Things Hoped For: Making Higher Ground" serves as a nice encapsulation of the commentary and a good history of the production. It's interesting how Farmiga went from simply starring to making her directing debut. It was a tricky debut for her dealing with three periods of time, while pregnant. The disc also contains deleted and extend scenes, which don't really add any additional information or perspective to the narrative.
The "Production Diary" just shows one scene and its production. The scene is a nondescript one and seems strangely out of place as a defining moment to look into more fully. The outtakes are just as nondescript.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
