The Firm Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "The Firm" in AVC encoded 1080p, with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, is an overall solid effort reflecting well on the director Nick Love and cinematographer Matt Gray's vision. Despite its inherently drab and dreary palette, the transfer offers occasional vivid pops of color that stand out sharply in high definition. The image is clear, maintaining a very filmic quality devoid of any overt digital manipulation. Strong contrast enhances the display, with black levels coming through excellently, ensuring crisp delineation between shadowed and illuminated areas. While the verité style can result in some scenes appearing somewhat soft due to camera movement, this is balanced by static scenes that deliver impressive fine detail.

Released in 2009, "The Firm’s" 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 encoded transfer meets expectations with its overall high-quality image, though minor issues like soft focus and deliberately blown-out white levels in certain scenes are noted. Fine detail varies with camera proximity and movement, showcasing exceptional detail in static moments that highlight facial features and clothing textures expertly. Depth of field is utilized effectively, creating a layered visual experience that brings background details into sharp relief. The film frequently uses bold colors to striking effect—particularly evident in scenes featuring Bex and Dom’s primary-colored tracksuits, which practically leap off the screen.

Indoor and nighttime scenes exhibit the transfer's high contrast levels, producing deep, inky blacks free from banding or crush. Conversely, some outdoor sequences are rendered hotter intentionally, potentially distracting some viewers while others may not notice at all. Fortunately, these hotter moments do not compromise fine detail significantly. Overall, the Blu-ray transfer of "The Firm" presents a commendable balance of clarity, color fidelity, and contrast, true to the film's original aesthetic intentions.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix on "The Firm" Blu-ray delivers an engaging audio experience characterized by deeply immersive soundscapes. The film’s thumping eighties' soundtrack is one of its standout components, effectively utilizing the full dynamic range of the lossless format. The songs are distributed powerfully through nearly every channel, punctuated by occasional LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) flourishes that enhance overall depth. Balance is key; the music, while prominent, never overshadows dialogue or sound effects, ensuring a coherent and seamless audio presentation.

Dialogue is treated with clarity and precision, essential for understanding the film's more intimate scenes. However, the regional slang may pose comprehension challenges for some viewers. Immersion extends to large crowd scenes and intense brawls, where sound effects resonate brilliantly, offering a deep, richly realistic atmosphere. The audio mix manages the busy and hectic elements adeptly through excellent imaging and directionality, allowing viewers to feel as if they are part of the action. Overall, this well-balanced sound mix provides an engaging auditory journey that enhances the viewing experience.

The Blu-ray extras for "The Firm" deliver a comprehensive and entertaining glimpse behind the scenes. The Isolated Score Track presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lets viewers immerse themselves purely in the film’s musical landscape. Nick Love's Audio Commentary, while insightful, occasionally meanders into an overly casual tone. The Making of The Firm provides a detailed look at production, including filmmaker interviews and on-location footage. The Deleted and Alternate Scenes showcase discarded content that adds context to the film. Anatomy of the Fights offers a detailed examination of the choreography behind the extensive brawls. The Original Theatrical Trailer is included in high definition, rounding out the offerings.

Extras included in this disc:

• Isolated Score Track: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 audio track featuring the film's score.
• Audio Commentary with Director Nick Love: Insightful commentary with anecdotes and production challenges.
• The Making of The Firm: Behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews and location shooting.
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes: Additional scenes providing more context.
• Anatomy of the Fights: Behind-the-scenes on fight choreography.
• Original Theatrical Trailer: High-definition trailer of the film.

Nick Love's 2009 big screen remake of The Firm, based on the 1989 made-for-television film by Alan Clarke, chronicles the violent subculture of football hooliganism with a gritty, working-class realism. The narrative follows Dom (Calum MacNab), a working-class teen aimlessly aspiring toward the swagger and violent charisma of Bex (Paul Anderson), the leader of a local firm of hooligans. While the original benefited from Gary Oldman's commanding presence, this adaptation offers solid performances from its leads but often struggles to balance period authenticity with character depth. The film recreates the 1980s atmosphere meticulously, with an emphasis on fashion and music, serving as both an homage and a potential distraction from the underlying story.

The primary relationship in The Firm is one of mentor and mentee, though it is fraught with ambiguity and complexities not fully explored. Dom's youthful impressionability sees him mimicking Bex’s style, including his penchant for brightly colored Fila tracksuits. While Dom brims with naive admiration, Bex's violence is portrayed with a feral intensity, embodying a caged animal's dual persona— calculated real estate agent by day and rampant hooligan by night. However, the screenplay lacks a coherent exploration of their motivations, leaving much of their dynamic unresolved and underdeveloped.

Furthermore, the antagonistic yet respectful relationship between Bex and rival firm leader Yeti (Daniel Mays) is another intriguing but underutilized aspect of the film. Their connections and commitments to their respective firms skimmed the surface of a violent loyalty driven by more than just an affinity for football. Love's direction opts for an observational approach, presenting a series of loosely connected scenes that portray the life of these hooligan groups without delving deeply into compelling narrative arcs or character motivations. The film excels in capturing the era's aesthetic but struggles to provide a substantive commentary on the toxic masculinity and inherent violence it depicts.

The Blu-ray release of "The Firm” achieves a significant milestone in the realm of home entertainment by meticulously capturing the essence of the 1980s. The visual presentation is pristine, boasting superb image quality that vividly brings the era's aesthetics to life. The sound design also impresses, delivering a dynamic audio experience that complements the high-resolution imagery. Despite the technical prowess on display, the film itself exhibits an imbalance; it excels in superficial nostalgia while falling short in narrative depth and character development.

Nick Love’s direction appears enamored with recreating the physical appearance of the period at the expense of delving into the internal motivations of its characters. While actors Anderson and Yates deliver noteworthy performances, their efforts are often hampered by a script lacking in substantial narrative thrust. The film’s focus on football hooliganism might resonate more profoundly with those familiar with or interested in that subculture, lending occasional moments of gut-wrenching reality, though this may not universally capture the broader audience's interest.

Ultimately, "The Firm” stands as a technically accomplished yet narratively hollow piece. It engages in evoking the visual and auditory authenticity of the 1980s but misses the opportunity to explore its characters' psychological depth and motivations comprehensively. This Blu-ray release is highly recommended for fans who appreciate solid technical merits and those intrigued by the niche subject matter, despite its narrative shortcomings.

Nick Love may have simply been seduced by the challenges of bringing his focal era to life, for this iteration of The Firm seems strangely fixated on external appearances rather than internal motivations. For those who follow the increasingly violent world of football hooliganism, this film will probably have more impact than for the public at large, but there's no denying the kind of gut-wrenching reality the film at least occasionally depicts. Technical merits here are very strong, and with some caveats in mind, The Firm comes recommended.