The Claim

You may need to make your claim on a comfy lounge chair before starting this one, otherwise your bottom may not like you very much. Some films can be stupendously long such as Apocalypse Now: Redux (roughly 200 minutes) and you don't notice how fast the time flies past. But other films that are only 115 minutes in length seem to drag on for an eternity. This film is one of those... a short film that drags on a little too much. The story is interesting enough, but seems to drag its feet every now and then making sections seem distant and sleepy.

The film stars an amazing cast of young talent, including Wes Bentley (the weird guy from American Beauty), Sarah Polley (the computer programmer in eXistenZ or the trafficking Ronna in Go) and Milla Jovovich (the psycho Leeloo from the cult classic The Fifth Element). This film has an incredibly talented crew including Michael Nyman for the score and Alwin Kuchler for the cinematography. So much talent has been used on this film, it’s a pity it didn't get a wider release.

The story is one about love, life and passion in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at the time of the creation of California. The story is based around four main characters. Dillon (Peter Mullan) runs a mining town called Kingdom Come, and the greed of his ambition sadly catches up with him with the arrival of Dalglish (Wes Bentley), Elena Burn (Nastassja Kinski) and her daughter Hope (Sarah Polley). But the arrival of these three people brings secrets about Dillon's past and threatens the future of the town. That is the general starting block for the movie, and as with any drama, not much can be said unless you want the whole story unveiled.

The video is presented in a widescreen aspect of 2.35:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. The Cinemascope photography looks superb on the screen, and the aspect is used to enhance the visuals from cinematographer Alwin Kuchler.

Being set in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, there is a large contrast between the black and the white. The blacks are solidly black, and the whites are stark and bold, yet have a slightly bluish tone to them. The entire picture for the outdoor scenes has a blue wash over the frame, but this is a positive rather than a down side, making the image look different, cold and superb. The colours are nicely rendered, however small a range there may be. Yellow tones are most apparent with the indoor fireplace lighting and candles, as well as the rich reds and oranges of explosions and fire. Skin tones appear realistic indoors and out, with pale 'cold' tones used outdoors and rich, lifelike tones indoors. Even in the darkest scenes, there is no sign of low-level noise.

There are a large number of film artefacts, yet nothing too distracting apart from one or two in the middle of a stark white backdrop, or white artefacts on a black backdrop. Film grain is generally very good, with nothing being overwhelmingly distracting. There are no MPEG artefacts.

The clarity of the image is superb, and consistently sharp. Well, that is unless an intentional soft focus occurs, which does happen regularly throughout.

There is a layer change occurring at 56:24, which is placed in a scene change with no audio or movement, so it is very neat indeed.

There are two film languages on this disc, both Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, one in English and one in Italian. Naturally the English is the primary listening option, unless you are fluent in Italian.

Dialogue levels are spot on, and overall the dialogue is easy to understand, however at times it can get muffled behind the crowd or thick accents.

The surrounds are used to carry discrete effects and the musical score. They are used effectively at times, yet are not over used in the way that some other films tend to do. The richness of the subwoofer is great to hear, especially during explosions and other trembling occasions in the Mountains such as an avalanche.

The score would have to be the best part of the audio track. It was composed by Michael Nyman, the genius behind the score for the film The Piano, which contain the haunting themes Big My Secret and The Heart Asks Pleasure First – you would know them if you heard them.

Sadly this disc only gives access to a theatrical trailer, which is by no means a special feature, just an extra feature. However, unlike some dirty, scratched and grainy trailers, this looks equally as good as the film and runs for 2:09, with an aspect of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhancement and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. The menu is animated and presented in a 16x9 enhanced aspect of 1.78:1. There is no background sound on the menu.

Overall The Claim is an interesting film that can be a little slow, with a very good video and audio transfer. The extra features are not special, but just there. It is worth a hire if you are interested in a drama, yet you may want to watch the film before purchasing a copy to add to your collection.