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- Robert Harris
Lionsgate has released Phillip Noyce's Above Suspicion, as a Blu-ray, and as a fan of Mr. Noyce's work, I needed to seek it out.
The film has an unfortunate history, which was not helped by the Covid situation, and as I continue to report on those film that either received no (or little) theatrical distribution, this is one worthy of your attention for a number of reasons.
A true story about a young woman from Kentucky (it was shot there), living with and tied in with drug dealers, who becomes a snitch, and then has an affair with the FBI agent pursuing cases in her area.
What's interesting here is that both the agent and the young woman are attempting to better themselves, and get out of lower level positions or poverty.
Susan Smith is played by Emilia Clarke, who has dirtied herself up and beautifully taken on the persona of Smith, a con artist seeing her future in the perfect FBI agent (Jack Huston) that she seduces, and desires to make hers.
This is an extremely dark film, shot in bleak off-color, which suits the storyline.
The other attribute that I found extremely interesting is that the film is narrated from the grave, by Smith. Think Sunset Boulevard.
What comes through in the film is the abject desperation of Smith.
Completed, and ready for distribution in 2017, here's the situation as reported by John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter.
"Completed in 2017, the film could have been released at the height of Clarke’s Game of Thrones popularity. But {Joe] Sharkey’s [the author of the book] own website describes... a “distribution clusterf***” in which random international theatrical engagements have left the film vulnerable to piracy long before its release in the West. A hoped-for U.S. opening in May was scuttled by the novel coronavirus, while U.K. distributors are releasing on streaming starting this week [July 2020].
A release three years ago would also have helped the film thematically, as its setting — economically devastated coal country where, according to Clarke’s Susan Smith, the funeral business and the drug trade are the only ways to make any money — foreshadows an opioid crisis that, by this point, has already been the focus of several big-screen dramas. Susan isn’t merely a partner with her ex-husband in supplying pills and powders to neighbors every payday; she’s also engaged in some sort of welfare fraud, drawing checks from multiple states. She’s a peach."
Above Suspicion isn't one of the great films, but it is an interesting film, especially with Ms Clarke's superb performance, that's worth your time.
Shot on an Arri Alexa, with (presumably) a 2k DI, the Blu-ray should mimic the theatrical presentation, which I have not seen.
Image – 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Recommended
RAH
The film has an unfortunate history, which was not helped by the Covid situation, and as I continue to report on those film that either received no (or little) theatrical distribution, this is one worthy of your attention for a number of reasons.
A true story about a young woman from Kentucky (it was shot there), living with and tied in with drug dealers, who becomes a snitch, and then has an affair with the FBI agent pursuing cases in her area.
What's interesting here is that both the agent and the young woman are attempting to better themselves, and get out of lower level positions or poverty.
Susan Smith is played by Emilia Clarke, who has dirtied herself up and beautifully taken on the persona of Smith, a con artist seeing her future in the perfect FBI agent (Jack Huston) that she seduces, and desires to make hers.
This is an extremely dark film, shot in bleak off-color, which suits the storyline.
The other attribute that I found extremely interesting is that the film is narrated from the grave, by Smith. Think Sunset Boulevard.
What comes through in the film is the abject desperation of Smith.
Completed, and ready for distribution in 2017, here's the situation as reported by John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter.
"Completed in 2017, the film could have been released at the height of Clarke’s Game of Thrones popularity. But {Joe] Sharkey’s [the author of the book] own website describes... a “distribution clusterf***” in which random international theatrical engagements have left the film vulnerable to piracy long before its release in the West. A hoped-for U.S. opening in May was scuttled by the novel coronavirus, while U.K. distributors are releasing on streaming starting this week [July 2020].
A release three years ago would also have helped the film thematically, as its setting — economically devastated coal country where, according to Clarke’s Susan Smith, the funeral business and the drug trade are the only ways to make any money — foreshadows an opioid crisis that, by this point, has already been the focus of several big-screen dramas. Susan isn’t merely a partner with her ex-husband in supplying pills and powders to neighbors every payday; she’s also engaged in some sort of welfare fraud, drawing checks from multiple states. She’s a peach."
Above Suspicion isn't one of the great films, but it is an interesting film, especially with Ms Clarke's superb performance, that's worth your time.
Shot on an Arri Alexa, with (presumably) a 2k DI, the Blu-ray should mimic the theatrical presentation, which I have not seen.
Image – 5
Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Recommended
RAH
