Original Sin (Blu-ray)
Directed by Michael Cristofer
Studio: MGM
Year: 2001
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 118 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish, French
Region: A
MSRP: $ 19.99
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Review Date: June 13, 2011
The Film
2.5/5
The notion of the femme fatale, that predatory female whose sexual allure is so mesmerizing that she can make any man do her bidding at any time, has always seemed rather ludicrous. Yes, it’s a helpful plot device in romance novels and in antiquated plays, and the movies have made full use of such a clichéd character all the way back to Theda Bara in the silent era. Mae West had fun playing such a role for comedy (the only way it’s ever worked within the realms of reality), but it’s a bit disheartening to find such a hoary old relic of a character still being dredged up for serious-minded plot purposes in Michael Cristofer’s Original Sin. While the writer-director’s set-up for his melodrama could excuse using such a character for its expository purposes, basing an entire film scenario around such a ridiculous pulp contrivance dooms the movie from any chance of being successful. This promising story of love most foul runs aground the longer the film plays, and no amount of explicit sex scenes or shocking plot twists can ever manage to make it palatable.
Cuban coffee plantation owner Luis Antonio Vargas (Antonio Banderas) is surprised and delighted when his mail order bride Julia Russell (Angelina Jolie) shows up looking far more alluring than a photograph she had sent. The duo comes to find out that each had lied to the other: Julia sent someone else’s picture who was plainer than she because she didn’t want to be desired for her looks alone. Antonio had not revealed that he owned the plantation where he worked and that he is incredibly wealthy, thus saving himself from a potential gold digger. The couple marry almost immediately, but Antonio begins noticing some odd things that make his wife more and more of an enigma: she has mysterious scars on her back, she seems overly flirtatious with other men especially with an actor backstage when they attend a production of Faust, she has a trunk that she refuses to open, she takes a sudden dislike for her tweeting canary. Before he knows it, Antonio is faced with some surprising developments in his relationship that not only threaten his happiness but his very existence.
Michael Cristofer is an award-winning writer (including the Pulitzer Prize for drama for The Shadow Box), but his adaptation of Cornell Woolrich’s Waltz into Darkness seems to retain all that was old-fashioned and absurd from the original story. The film’s first forty-five minutes are alive with alternately baffling and bewitching encounters between the two leads. You won’t find more explicit lovemaking portrayed on screen short of the porno shop (and it’s not egregiously done or there for pure titillation’s sake; it’s important to set up Bandaras’ character for the remainder of the movie), and both actors establish their identities strongly before the plot’s first great twist (and the film’s one real surprise) occurs. Afterwards, however, the narrative becomes more and more outrageously stupid with characters (particularly Bandaras’) behaving in ways that defy rational description. The remaining twists in the film can all be seen from a mile away, so all of the “shocking” reveals later on down the line crash and burn rather than thrill. By the time the film pulls its final reveal, we’re long past caring. And while Cristofer shows some skill behind the camera staging shots with some variety, he shows his French influences by using silly jump cuts a la Godard as the spirit moves him (the film is a remake of Francois Truffaut’s Mississippi Mermaid, another French influence) and yet doesn’t keep a tight rein on his actors whose accents (in the case of Jolie and Thomas Jane) turn on and off rather embarrassingly.
Antonio Bandaras receives top billing here and deserves it with the completely earnest plunge he takes into this tempestuous material. Despite the film’s often preposterous over-ripeness, he gives the role a solid, believably sincere attempt and emerges as the movie’s most ingratiating presence. Angelina Jolie, despite lapses with her accent, also seems a bit off-pitch emotionally throughout never allowing the audience into her confidence even after the various twists of the scenario have been accomplished. Thomas Jane as Walter Downs, a detective hired by Julia’s sister to find out about her happiness, hasn’t been given quite enough help from the writer-director to be able to shade his character from closer scrutiny. Jack Thompson as Bandaras’ partner in the coffee plantation and Gregory Itzin as a suitor who falls for the undeniable charms of Angelina Jolie both play their parts to perfection, minor though they be.
Video Quality
4/5
The film has been framed at 2.35:1 and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. Sharpness is the transfer’s most notable lapse, usually very crisp and revealing of much detail but occasionally soft and indistinct. Color values are very good, and flesh tones, while occasionally too rosy, are generally excellent. Black levels also vary a bit from only fairly good to very good. The film has been divided into 16 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix has great presence generally with the split surround effects used to great advantage to extend the soundstage appreciably. There are missed opportunities for panning effects constantly during the film, but otherwise, the various front and rear channels get decent use. Terence Blanchard’s rather bombastic score certainly is spread throughout the soundfield to great effect while dialogue has been recorded well and placed in the center channel.
Special Features
2.5/5
Writer-director Michael Cristofer contributes the audio commentary, a rather subdued affair which nevertheless includes many production stories about the making of the film, his reasons for the changes from the original book, and his feelings about the earlier Truffaut version.
A music video of “You Can’t Walk Away from Love,” clearly the theme of the movie, is presented by Gloria Estefan in 480i lasting for 1 ¾ minutes.
The theatrical trailer for the film is presented in 1080p and runs for 2 ¼ minutes.
In Conclusion
2.5/5 (not an average)
Gorgeous stars playing in an outrageous story of twisted love and devotion may find a willing audience for Original Sin, but the plot reveals are, with one exception, pretty obvious, and the movie is never the glamorous charade that its writer-director wants it to be. The Blu-ray, however, does feature excellent sound and video, all the better to see and hear these pretty people doing these ridiculous things to one another.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
