Blu-ray Disc Reviews
Incendiary on Blu-ray Disc
By Rachel Cericola
2009-06-19 01:20:35

The Film

What do you get when you cheat? A world full of hurt.

At least that's what I got out of Incendiary, a drama about a woman (Michelle Williams) who pretty much loses her mind when she is robbed of her husband and son.

Not that I needed a lesson, mind you. However, it was possibly the only thing that was evident in this movie. The first 20 minutes of Incendiary establishes this awesome bond between mother (Williams) and son (Sidney Johnston). We don't see the same type of bond between the woman and her husband (Nicholas Gleaves). Maybe that's why she ends up cheating on him with Jasper (Ewan McGregor), a reporter. While father and son are away at an Arsenal match, the unthinkable happens. The lovers are messing around at the exact moment that a bomb rips through the soccer stadium, killing the two and about 1,000 others. See, that's what you get!

Unfortunately, what the viewer gets is a completely uneven, weird movie. It's like that bomb blew apart the script and a lot of smaller movies came raining down. The mother begins relationships with her deceased husband's creepy boss (Matthew Macfadyen) as well as the son of an alleged bomber. Also, Jasper, who we assume still has feelings for his lover, begins a whole investigation of his own. These various plots are all intertwined with flashbacks of the happy family, as well as current glimpses of our main girl slowly losing her mind. All of that might have been manageable, if it weren't for the incessant narrations of the young mother's letters to Osama bin Laden -- yeah, you read that right.

The film is director/writer Sharon Maguire's first effort since 2001's smash, Bridget Jones's Diary. If you are expecting another little romp about the quirky lives of "singletons," you're going to be sorely disappointed.

The Picture

So you may not be able to follow the plot and may not want to. However, viewers could get lost in this 2.40:1 image, because it's good. There is a bit of grain and the color palette is pretty dark. However, those dark images are deep and detailed. Some of the most notable points in the movie include the aftermath of the explosion, as well as the film's many flashbacks.

The Sound

Image gave this release a DTS-HD Master Audio track, which works nicely with the score, as well as the film's outdoor scenes. Some of the dialogue is hard to pick up, because it's very low and is heavy with Williams' fairly decent accent. However, there are plenty of other sounds for your surrounds, such as the actual explosion, as well as emergency vehicles, trains, and other random street noises.

The Extras

Unless you want to relive the movie through still images, there's nothing for you here.

Final Thoughts

Need a good cry? Don't count on Incendiary. Although filmmakers would love to help you turn on the waterworks with this one, it's just not happening. Maybe that's because the film is a little hokey and hard to follow. Still, we gave it a couple of stars for Michelle Williams alone. The girl can act.

Where to Buy:

• Incendiary on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

• Actors: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Gleaves, Sidney Johnston
• Director: Sharon Maguire
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: May 5, 2009
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• List Price: $35.98
• Extras:
  • Still Galleries
  • Trailer