Distributed by

Cert:

Cat.no: 01871 DVD

Running time: 94 minutes

Year: 1991

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 15 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)

Languages: English

Subtitles: 11 languages available

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £15.99

Extras: Trailer, Video Clips of Cast and Crew

Director:

Joseph Ruben (Dreamscape, Fighting Justice, The Good Son, Joyride, Money Train, Return to Paradise, Sleeping With The Enemy, The Stepfather, True Believer)

Producer:

Leonard Goldberg

Screenplay:

Ronald Bass (based on the novel by Nancy Price)

Music:

Jerry Goldsmith

Cast:

Laura: Julia Roberts
Martin: Patrick Bergin
Ben: Kevin Anderson
Chloe: Elizabeth Lawrence
Fleishman: Kyle Secor

Well, it's partly clear here because it's a star vehicle for Julia Roberts in which she doesn't have to bother acting properly but just goes on the run from psycho hubby Patrick Bergin (the poor man's Kevin Kline) by pretending to fake her own death at sea. So, like The Rise And Fall of Reginald Perrin but without the entertainment value, or something.

When Bergin realises she's not dead he aims to track her down to the ends of the Earth, finding her in a small midwestern town in the arms of soppy Kevin Anderson. You can guess what happens from here because the plot writes itself and the only people it'll surprise are the women who flock to see crap like this just because they think it asserts the notion that "all men are bastards and potential rapists/murderers" and because it stars Ms. Roberts it'll give ITV something to bolt their dire Saturday night schedules onto.

The male viewers wish Bergin would bump her off in scene one and then it would put a stop to the film completely.

The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and is anamorphic. The print is fine, but far from outstanding. Then again, its target audience will find it perfectly watchable because they'll make do with analogue ITV and this does look better than that so no worries on that scale.

As for the sound, the Dolby Surround soundtrack is so quiet it's unbelievably so. Same goes for the trailer. You have to whack the volume up to hear what's being said and then when something happens, such as the personal blows to Bergin in the closing chapter, they shout out so loud that you have to turn the volume back down as a result. Then you can't hear what they're saying again!

The only extras are a near-2-minute 4:3 Trailer and some Video Clips of Cast and Crew, with each main member getting two minutes to say their piece. It's one of those things you'll watch once and not bother with again.

There are only 15 chapters which isn't enough, the menus are static and silent and there are subtitles in 11 languages: Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and English for the hearing impaired.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.