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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Dolby Digital trailer

Unconditional Love

Roadshow Entertainment/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 116 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

When your world is made up of dreams, it’s hard to let them go when the reality of the situation becomes evident. Kathy Bates plays Grace Beasley, a bored housewife married to a boring man (Dan Aykroyd). When her favourite singer, Victor Fox, comes to town to perform, Grace wins a ticket to see him live. At that moment, however, her insensitive husband decides to tell her he’s leaving her. Later that same day, her idol is murdered right down the street and on a whim she decides to go to England for his funeral. Upon arrival, she meets some critical members of his family, plus his (gasp!) lover of ten years, a young man named Dirk (Rupert Everett, being gay yet again). With Dirk’s help, Grace attempts to find out who killed Victor and a series of strange events then begin which will threaten their very lives.

Kathy Bates is sensational as Grace, playing the well-kept but downtrodden housewife, and brings her unique flair and individuality to the role. It seems she can play anyone perfectly, and it is this talent that truly brings this film to life. She and Everett work well together as the two conspirators – Grace with her limited experience, but enthusiastic approach and Dirk with his guarded cynicism and brooding intellect. It’s a universal story, that of love lost, dreams dashed and retribution meted out, but it works well here and does have an unusual take on the usual approach.

"Julie Andrews is in the cockpit!"

There is singing all through this film; we can barely watch for five minutes without someone bursting into song or a Jonathan Pryce number being belted out over the action, however, it isn’t a musical. It is, though, a film about the price of fame, the cost of dreams and the effects both can have on human beings in a given situation. It does contain some genuine laughs and is billed as a comedy, yet I couldn’t help but detect the ironic note of sadness hidden behind the layers.

Still, it’s a film I found myself interested in more and more as it progressed. Not a dark comedy, and not strictly a murder mystery, it’s a film that defies conventional boundaries of genre, which certainly runs with the theme of the entire movie.

  Video
Contract

I can’t fault the transfer here. Delivered in magnificent 2.35:1 with 16:9 enhancement, the picture is absolutely stunning. Being so recently made, there are no obvious artefacts and all the colours are brilliant. There are a couple of scenes in particular where this is utilised to the full. These are fireworks as seen from the upper stories of a glass walled apartment complex and the colours are supremely rich and bright. There’s no bleeding or blurring and the picture is razor sharp. I didn’t see any alias or static or nuthin’.

Flesh tones are richly shaded and the shadows are deep without swallowing detail. Blacks, too, are deep and true to life creating an overall picture that is top notch.

  Audio
Contract

Dolby Digital 5.1 is the order of the day and, again, the sound is perfect. Being so deeply ingrained in music (songs in particular), the sound is so very important and this hasn’t been let down by the recording or DVD treatment. The levels are all nice and well balanced, giving us nice and throaty or subtle and sombre when the story requires. The film contains an original score, but it makes equal use of tracks performed by Jonathan Pryce (I didn’t know he could sing) to good effect. Kathy Bates even sings a couple, and I certainly had no idea she could sing! As to singing, Rupert Everett, Julia Andrews, Dan Aykroyd, Barry Manilow and even Sally Jesse Raphael all have a go (though Sally looks suspiciously like she’s miming, badly).

Dialogue is nice and clear, with all lines delivered crisply. There are plenty of English and American accents and these too come across cleanly. Finally, the only stock sound effects I could detect are among the fireworks, but this is acceptable. All other sound and sound effects are just fine.

  Extras
Contract

Just the trailer folks, although it is presented in 1.85:1 with 16:9 enhancement and looks as good as it possibly could. This runs for two minutes 20 by the way and, like they were disappointed in themselves, they’ve dropped the crappy Dolby trailer in before the film as well (it’s the Egypt one, in case you’re wondering).

  Overall  
Contract

This film really took me by surprise. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I didn’t expect as good a film as the one I got. With some superlative performances by the cast and some touchy social issues dealt with and handled well, Unconditional Love is a fun film with a nice message. That message may be lost on some folks, but that’s okay, because the film doesn’t seem to be trying to make a point, rather that was just something that came across on its own.

An entertaining and colourful movie that is easily watched from the beginning to the end, but is unfortunately devoid of extras. Still, the film carries itself well on its own, but is probably not quite well known enough to warrant flying without them.

Try renting it before you buy it.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2830
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      And I quote...
    "Unconditional Love is a good film, but one which will likely be overlooked due to no extras supporting this not-so-well-known title."
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Nintaus DVD-N9901
    • TV:
          Sony 51cm
    • Receiver:
          Diamond
    • Speakers:
          Diamond
    • Surrounds:
          No Name
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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