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The Movie:
It's a bit of an odd place, I would think, when you leave the job of being a film critic and go to the other side and become a director. That, though, is just the place that director Rod Lurie found himself in last year as he made his directing debut with the underrrated and very entertaining small thriller "Deterrence". Pulling together a top-notch cast for another politically-themed thriller, he made "The Contender" independently and Dreamworks later picked it up for release.
The always excellent Joan Allen stars as Laine Hanson, the first woman nominated for Vice President. Although there is an additional choice in Jack Hathaway (William L Petersen), President Jackson Evans(Jeff Bridges) wants to put a woman in office. The choice of Hanson is agreed with by some, although it also sets off an investigation into her past that reveals some secrets that the opposition, Shelly Runyon(Gary Oldman) will choose to use against her.
Hanson flatly refuses to discuss her sexual past, saying that it is no one's business but her own. We follow the characters throughout back rooms and hearings, arguements and subtle discussions. It all turns into a full-scale battle as both Hanson's future and Evans' role in political history are at stake. I really don't know a great deal about politics myself, but Lurie obviously has a great deal of interest in the subject and the details of "The Contender", although I certainly can't confirm their reality, at least seemed believable.
Also believable and most entertaining are the performances, with the leads being some of the most engaging performances I've seen recently. The slight comedy of Bridges offering guests food and being pleased with the fact that he can request anything from his chef is amusing a couple of times, there's also a more serious side to the character displayed, thankfully. I can't remember a performance of Joan Allen's that I've been dissapointed with and this is no different, as Allen plays Hanson intelligently, holding back an undercurrent of anger and emotion - she doesn't let the audience know quite everything she's thinking. Oldman is wonderfully Oldman, doing a fine job at playing the villian of the piece - many have said that Oldman did not recieve awards notice due to his vocal dislike of the final product, which, interestingly, he's also listed as producer on (according to the Internet Movie Database). Technically, the film is fine as well, with fine editing and pacing. Cinematography is somewhat unremarkable, with an overall average visual look.
The film is not without its flaws. Certainly, Republicans may not be thrilled with their general portrayal as villians. Lurie occasionally crosses the line into melodrama (most noticably with the score), before quickly stepping back. Personally, I was able to overlook what the film was lacking in story elements and simply enjoy strong drama with fine acting. Flawed, but like Lurie's "Deterrence", still entertaining.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although there have been a couple of Dreamworks titles recently that did not quite live up to their excellent standards (with the exception of "Road To El Dorado", which looked beautiful), "The Contender" is another excellent effort from the studio, offering a crisp and well-defined image throughout. Sharpness and detail are very good, with few exceptions, but the picture keeps a smooth, clear look. Flesh tones remain accurate and natural, as well.
There's really nothing that I found noticable in the way of problems. Literally one or two very minor speckles appear, although certainly nothing that's even momentarily distracting. A slight bit of grain seemed to appear in a couple of scenes, but nothing that I found too noticable. Pixelation and shimmer also thankfully do not appear, making for a pleasing viewing experience.
Colors vary a bit; there are some slightly more vibrant scenes such as a when the characters walk through a flower garden early on, but mainly, "The Contender" is not a very bold-looking or colorful film for the remainder, as it mainly takes place in cold-looking offices and rooms. Although not quite fantastic, Dreamworks has done a very fine job with the presentation for "The Contender". Layer change is at 59:46.
SOUND: Dreamworks thankfully continues to offer the choice between DTS 5.1 audio and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio on their recent releases when possible. "The Contender" is mainly a dialogue-driven feature, with a fine score from Larry Groupe (who also worked with Lurie on "Deterrence") sounding rich and full, a little melodramatic at times, but still enjoyable. There is not a great deal of surround use throughout, with a few noticable exceptions, both mild and subtle. Dialogue remains natural and clean, with no issues. Differences between the Dolby and DTS presentations are minimal at most.
MENUS:: As usual, Dreamworks provides menus that are both animated and appropriate. In this case, an animated clip takes the viewer into the main menu, which provides subtle animation and the score in the background. Sub-menus are also very nicely done - for example, the scene selection menu provides clips.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rod Lurie and actress Joan Allen. Lurie expressed his like for commentary tracks on his track that he provided for "Deterrence" and does a fine job again here, energetically discussing his feelings about working on the film, and stories behind the production. There's also a good deal of discussion and praise for the actors that worked on the film (as well as Allen, who he wrote the film for) as well as analysis of the story. The commentary does start off a little slowly as it revolves more around praise for all of the elements rather than talking about the details of how the film was made, but it begins to get more informative as it goes along. Allen discusses her role at times, although she generally goes back and forth with Lurie, contributing to his comments and agreeing with him.
There's few pauses throughout the track as the two are able to carry on the conversation thoughout. Not always a fascinating commentary, it still proved enjoyable and offered some fun stories, such as some instances of Dreamworks head Steven Spielberg's involvement in the picture.
Deleted Scenes: There are 10 deleted scenes included, with optional commentary from director Rod Lurie. Lurie talks about liking the scenes that were cut out, but that they were cut out of the final production for reasons of pacing, or they didn't quite work with the material. On the menu for the deleted scenes, there are minor text notes about what the scene is when the scene is selected. These scenes are interesting to watch, although I agree with their being taken out of the film.
The Making Of a Political Thriller: A slightly less than 22 minute documentary, this looks "behind-the-scenes" at the making of "The Contender". A mainly promotional documentary, this does offer some interesting production notes on occasion, but there's a lot of the usual documentary elements - quite a few clips from the movie between a good deal of interviews with the actors and crew about the story and film in general. The middle piece goes back and looks at political thrillers/dramas of the past.
Also: The theatrical trailer (Dolby Digital 5.1), production notes, cast and crew bios.
Final Thoughts:
Positive: "The Contender" had a mixed reaction in theaters; either quite negative or positive. Although I agree the film is somewhat flawed, I still found the performances very strong and overall, it was an entertaining drama. Dreamworks provides very good, but not fantastic audio and video as well as a handful of enjoyable extra features. Recommended.
Negative: Yes, the documentary remains a bit "promotional", but I don't have any major complaints about the DVD package as a whole.
Film Grade
The Film ***
DVD Grades
Video 90/A- = (360/400 possible points)
Audio: 90/A- = (360/400 possible points)
Extras: 83/B = (249/300 possible points)
Menus: 90/A- = (180/200 possible points)
Value: 84/B = (252/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1401/1600
DVD GRADE:B/87%
FILM GRADE: ***
DVD GRADE: B
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