The Blackout

Director Abel Ferrara deserves a lot of credit for willingly staying out
there on the fringe. He intentionally chooses projects that provoke,
annoy, and disturb. "THE BAD LIEUTENANT", "KING OF NEW YORK" and "THE
FUNERAL" were heavily flawed in certain respects, but they were also
bold, and innovative. Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken and others gave
the best performances of their careers in these films! With this past
track record, I was looking forward to seeing "The Blackout".
Unfortunately, it was disappointing on almost every level. Ferrara
isn't being "daring" here, just dull!

The story involves Matty, a popular movie star who's fled the
perversions of Los Angeles to be with the French model girlfriend
carrying his baby in South Beach. The film's filled with non-stop
contradictions! Fleeing the phony world of LA for the phony world of
South Beach makes one wonder if Matty's an idiot. But, these characters
all have other problems as well. Matty's pregnant girlfriend, at first
seems normal for going off at the father of her child for indulging in
cocaine, but she's off her rocker too! When Matty finds out that she's
had an abortion, he and way "out there" filmmaker Dennis Hopper, hit the
town for a night of debauchery and Matty parties harder and harder until
he eventually has a "blackout". Matty, like the audience suspects
something terrible happened that night, but we don't know "what"!
Suddenly, time has passed, and Matty is now sober, and living in New
York with the beautiful Claudia Schiffer as his new girlfriend. He's
still haunted by "not" knowing what happened that night in Florida. He
decides to return to South Beach and find the answers to his many
questions. The answers only cause more self-destruction as he quickly
spirals backwards into drinking "Leaving Las Vegas" style.
Unfortunately, Cage's character in that film brought about some sympathy
for the viewer. There's none of that here! There's nothing likeable
about his character, or any of the characters for that part, to make
their situations matter. The longer the film continues, the more we
want it to end. Even at just 96 minutes, the film feels too long. Even
the erotic elements of the film, as good as they are, can't make the
film worth recommending.

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has presented the film in its correct 1.85:1 aspect
ratio with 16:9 enhancement. The colors values are solid here! The
nighttime look of South Beach creates a dazzling display of neon colors
for the first half of the film, and the images are bright and filled
with bold colors that are distinguished from one another without any
oversaturation. There is some minor grain in darker scenes, but nothing
too overbearing. Contrast is impressive, with deep blacks and grays.
Fleshtones appear natural throughout. A full frame version is also
available, but the letterboxed version offers better framing.

COLUMBIA TRISTAR has presented "THE BLACKOUT" with a dolby surround mix.
There are some creative directional effects, but the surrounds are used
mostly to boost the music, which is present throughout the film. The
dialogue is always intelligible and free from distortion.

A full-frame trailer for "The Blackout" along with trailers for "Mercy",
"Eye of the Beholder", "Trois", and "Time Code" have been included.