Why So Blu?

John and the Hole (Blu-ray Review)

While odd and feeling like one of a kind in terms of what takes place, John and the Hole is a familiar kind of indie film. It toured film festivals, received mixed reactions based on its ambiguous qualities, and found its way to theaters to little fanfare. While not groundbreaking, it’s the sort of film that can be watched and appreciated for what it attempts to do while being frustrating at the same time. Now the film has arrived on Blu-ray, where it can perhaps find a cult audience, but keep in mind that there’s not much fun to be had in this disturbing coming-of-age thriller.

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Film:

Charlie Shotwell stars as John. He’s the young son of the family, including Michael C. Hall as his father, Jennifer Ehle as his mother, and Taissa Farmiga as his older sister. After a bit of setup that essentially establishes John as a bit of an oddball, the rest of his family wakes up in a large hole near their home one morning. John has placed them there. Why? He does not say. While he drops food for them, John then goes on to do whatever he wants, while the family goes through varying stages of suffering.

At just over 100 minutes, John and the Hole could have been tightened up a bit to have the film and the actions these characters take to make more of an impact. As it stands, it’s a subtle, deliberately passed movie that will surely annoy viewers looking for clearer answers. I’ve seen the film a couple of times now and can only say that this is the proper reaction, but part of the point. It’s a deliberately vague film that even finds a way to complicate itself further by throwing in another subplot that similarly has little clarification.

However, what works about the movie is…well, all of the work that’s gone into expanding this unnerving short story, “El Pozo,” by Nicolas Giacobone. Director Pascual Sisto benefits from working with a low-budget film with no real studio demands to make the story conform to a rigid structure. As a result, thanks to both his own sensibilities and what seems like some inspiration from filmmakers such as Yorgos Lanthimos, John and the Hole is a measured film. It finds a new way to dig into what could come out of a coming-of-age story.

As John, Shotwell is remarkably good at painting a level of villainy and innocence on such a young face. He’s clearly going through something as his character, and watching John essentially be on a search for what is missing allows the film some nuanced dimensions that come through in some of his more desperate moments to keep all outside of the whole at bay, while he contends with whatever’s going on.

At the same time, Hall, Ehle, and Farmiga do a lot to play up the miserableness of their situation. Seeing the evolution of their emotions regarding this helpless situation is sad, sometimes darkly humorous, but also weirdly fulfilling if one wanted to root for John in some way. This is, after all, the darkest version of Home Alone in some sense.

While not a film designed to bring a constructed level of satisfaction, there’s plenty of intrigue to help create conversation. That’s enough to make John and the Hole worthwhile. On top of that, it’s a well-shot film, and it knows how to build a proper level of tension. As an unconventional thriller of sorts, it does the job.

 

Video:

Encoding: MPEG -4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Clarity/Detail:  The transfer does a fine job presenting the film as needed. John and the Hole is shot to be as cold as the emotions being experienced, and that’s reflected in the static shots and use of the academy ratio. The details come through as needed, with an emphasis on emptiness, so the picture’s clarity can show a lot of empty space effectively.

Depth: Depth is fine. The character spacing registers as well as it needs to, which is helpful for an ensemble cast, especially when they’re in a large hole.

Black Levels: Black levels do enough to add to the atmosphere, with no sign of significant crushing.

Color Reproduction: This is a relatively muted picture, but elements like a pool or a garden allow colors to shine through as they need to.

Flesh Tones: There’s a good level of facial detail to be found as the film focuses more on panicked faces.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: The Blu-ray comes equipped with one lossless audio track, and it is as good as it needs to be. While not the most elaborate production, sound design plays its role in maximizing the tension required for a thriller like this.

Low-Frequency Extension: There’s not much room for the sub-woofer to have a say, but the subtle moments work.

Surround Sound Presentation: Areas set outdoors allow more of the film’s audio elements and score to take over, but the rear channels are never fully engaged.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone is heard loud and clear.

Extras:

Nada

Summary:

John and the Hole is a film worth watching for those who appreciate a well-made movie that capitalizes on intriguing setups that do not intend to spoon-feed the answers to the viewers. It’s a conversation starter of a film, with some solid performances. The Blu-ray has nothing to offer outside its technical aspects, but it looks and sounds good enough. Anyone interested could give this a rent.

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