The Photograph Blu-ray Review

The video presentation of "The Photograph" on Blu-ray is a visual delight, offering an immaculately detailed and balanced portrayal. Despite the ambiguity surrounding the filming stock and resolution of the master, the digital intermediate process ensures that the film looks stunning. Presented in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, the clarity is exceptional, showcasing razor-sharp facial details, tangible textures, and dynamic environments. Skin tones are rich and robust, maintaining a natural and lifelike appearance. The film subtly employs a slight hint of gold in flashback scenes to impart a dated look, though this sometimes leads to mildly milky black levels due to the yellow tinge. Minimal mosquito noise can be observed in these scenes but does not distract from the overall quality.

The color palette is neutral yet pleasing, maintaining accuracy across various lighting conditions from natural greenery to vibrant urban settings. Specific scene highlights include Mae's yellow dress against her skin tone and the richly detailed environments of New York and Louisiana. Black levels are deep and well-defined, with no noticeable crush even in darker scenes. The depth and dimensionality give life to various set pieces, like homes and museums, capturing an authentically lived-in feel. The image is free of significant source or encoding flaws, positioning "The Photograph" as almost picture-perfect on Blu-ray. Mild noise in darker shots is present but remains unobtrusive, ensuring an engaging viewing experience throughout.

The 7.1 DTS-HD MA track on "The Photograph" offers a remarkably vibrant and engaging audio presentation, impeccably detailed and well-balanced throughout. This romantic dramedy benefits greatly from its immersive sound mix, making full use of the multiple channels to vividly bring the settings to life, particularly the bustling streets of New York and atmospheric locations in Louisiana. Dialogue remains crisp and clear, consistently anchored front and center, ensuring intelligibility even amid the dynamic background sounds and rich musical score that dominate the track.

The soundtrack excels in delivering a robust auditory experience, with the Louisiana Jazz-inflected score by Robert Glasper serving as a central highlight. The music, including lively jazz notes and source cues from artists like Anita Baker, Karyn White, Whitney Houston, Al Green, and H.E.R., is impeccably reproduced with punchy LFE extension that underscores the ambiance with added depth. Ambient noises such as city traffic, chattering pedestrians, and environmental effects like rain and thunder are effectively employed in the surrounds and rears, further enhancing the immersive quality of the track. Notable scenes include the ambient details during a dialogue at the 16-minute mark and the foreboding storm sounds during chapters seven and eight.

Overall, "The Photograph" showcases a masterful use of its 7.1 audio setup, offering a dynamic range that enriches the viewing experience. With commendable sound placement and integration, the audio stage supports both music and ambient effects seamlessly, while dialogue clarity remains consistently excellent. This mix stands out for its unexpected depth, ensuring that both atmospheric elements and musical highlights are delivered with precision and engaging detail.

The Blu-ray extras for "The Photograph" offer insightful yet concise content, well-suited for enthusiasts eager to delve deeper into the film's creative process. Included featurettes provide a robust look at various aspects of the movie, enhancing the viewer’s appreciation for the film's storytelling and cultural context. The special features, while brief, are professionally assembled and offer valuable behind-the-scenes perspectives on the story's origins, cultural significance, and the photography that ties the narrative together.

Extras included in this disc:

• Shooting The Photograph: Discusses story origins, inspirations, performances, and shooting locations under Stella Meghie's direction.
• Culture in Film: Explores telling a familiar story from an African-American perspective, with comparisons to "Love Jones".
• The Film Through Photographs: Delves into building Christina's story and the photographer behind the film's visuals.

“The Photograph,” directed by Stella Meghie, intertwines two timelines to tell a multifaceted story of love, loss, and self-discovery. The narrative juxtaposes the contemporary romance between Mae Morton (Issa Rae) and Michael Block (Lakeith Stanfield) against the historical backdrop of Mae’s mother Christina’s (Chanté Adams) tumultuous love life in the 1980s. This dual storytelling approach adds depth to the film, exploring the impact of past decisions on present realities. However, despite its promising structure, the film is hindered by a lack of genuine chemistry between the main characters. Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield’s relationship, while sincere, often feels contrived and lacks the necessary spark, making their interactions less compelling than the film’s elegantly shot backgrounds and evocative soundtrack by Robert Glasper.

The performances are generally commendable, with Chanté Adams delivering a particularly nuanced portrayal of Christina. Her story, which unfolds through a series of reminiscences and still photographs, feels authentic and deeply emotional. Mae discovering more about her mother’s past helps bridge the emotional gap left by Christina’s distance during her lifetime. This bittersweet exploration provides some genuinely affecting moments, offering viewers glimpses of raw humanity and introspection.

Technically, “The Photograph” boasts outstanding cinematography and art direction. The film’s visual composition effectively utilizes both contemporary and period-specific aesthetics to create a cohesive and visually engaging experience. The photographs within the film serve as emotional touchstones for the characters, imparting a palpable sense of nostalgia and connection. However, while the film aspires to be heartfelt and poignant, its timely jumping can occasionally disrupt the narrative flow, leaving viewers yearning for a more seamless integration of its interwoven tales.

Overall, “The Photograph” presents an ambitious yet somewhat flawed exploration of love across generations. Its strengths lie in its poignant visual storytelling and strong individual performances, yet it falls slightly short in translating these elements into a fully cohesive romantic narrative. Nonetheless, it remains an aesthetically pleasing and emotionally resonant film worth viewing.

"The Photograph" stands out as a refreshing entry in the romance genre, skillfully crafted under the direction of Stella Meghie. Encompassing the intricate tale of two parallel love stories, the film avoids conventional stereotypes and offers a positive portrayal of characters of color. Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield deliver compelling performances that anchor the narrative, which, although solid, occasionally feels wooden due to some stiff character direction. That said, Meghie’s growth as a writer-director is evident and noteworthy.

The technical specifications of the Blu-ray release are impressive, featuring a sharp 2.39:1 AVC aspect ratio, complemented by a robust DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio track that ensures an immersive viewing experience. The supplemental DTS 5.1 tracks in French and Spanish, along with subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish, further extend its accessibility. Although the extras are modest in both number and runtime, they suffice in fulfilling their supplementary purpose, albeit leaving viewers desiring more depth.

This Blu-ray release of "The Photograph" offers outstanding video and audio quality, making it a worthwhile experience for viewers. While the film isn't an unequivocal triumph, it significantly raises the bar for romantic films, with its positive representation of its characters and thoughtful execution. Despite some flaws in narrative dynamism and character direction, the film is a commendable effort from Meghie. For these reasons, it is recommended as a rental—an enjoyable watch that showcases future promise from this emerging filmmaker.