The Dinner - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Dinner

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
The Dinner is adapted from a novel of the same name by Herman Koch, and has garnered itself quite a few literary praises over the years. I usually try to read the book before watching a movie, or have ended up reading it at some point in my life before viewing, but this is one of those times where I have to go in blind due to not having read the source material. I’m sure that adapting a highly intellectual thriller like The Dinner by Koch into a film, and Oren Moverman does a stellar job at trying to keep the complex pieces of the novel intact in film form, but there are also quite a lot of pitfalls along the way with an undertaking that large. The Dinner is a fascinating piece that has a lot going for it, but also suffers from fractured pacing elements as well as an ending that probably would have fared a lot better in written form than as the ending of a feature film. it’s a decent watch, and has some AMAZING performances, but the clunky nature of the back and forth storytelling just doesn’t always work on screen.

The film keeps a close tight hold on the cards at hand for the most part, and only allows glimpses of the character flaws behind each person at this particular dinner. At the beginning all we know is that Clare (Laura Linney) and Paul Lohman (Steve Coogan) are going out to a super fancy dinner with Paul’s brother Stan (Richard Gere) and Stan’s new wife, Katelyn (Rebecca Hall) at an upscale restaurant to speak about something in a hush hush manner. Stan is an up and coming politician with a huge bill on the table, while Paul is a bit of neurotic fellow. As the night goes on and tensions get higher from petty bickering, it becomes clear that the reason that the families have gotten together that night is because of their sons. It seems that both their boys committed an incredibly atrocious act of criminal violence, and it’s time to talk about what to do about it. So far the basic images have been posted in the news, but no one has been able to identify the children. Thus, the need to covertly whisper and plan their next steps.

With tensions running high and so much at stake on the line the true character of everyone is laid bare for all the world to see. Clare appears to the be most logical and kindhearted one of them, but as the minutes tick by you see another side to her. A side that is a little TOO loving towards her son, allowing him to get away with (literally) murder and cover it up for him. Katelyn seems to be the ice cold stepmother, but near the end of the film you see her layers peeled back and come to the conclusion that she has sacrificed and loved these boys more than anyone at the table. Although she, much like Clare, is a bit too willing to cover things up for her step child’s crime. This leaves the two men and their character flaws on stage. Surprisingly, Stan is the shining knight here. Even though he’s a “too rich for his own good” politician, he actually has a heart of gold who has nursed and cared for his brother and Paul’s craziness over the years. Not to mention he has the most logical and caring method of dealing with the horrific situation. One that actually had me applauding his moxy. Last, but not least, we have Paul. Easily the most damaged and flawed of the 4 people at the table, some of it is not his fault. Paul carries a whole host of mental abnormalities and neurosis that hamstring his life and keep him either heavily medicated, or slightly whacked out part of the time. This has effected his home life and marital relations to the breaking point, and while he has the LEAST to actually contribute to the dinner, he also seems to be the one who has the most to say.

The Dinner is a complex character study, and while it labels itself as a taught thriller, it really is more of a drama with light thriller elements thrown in during the second half of the movie. First and foremost, I have to say that the movie is superbly acted. Richard Gere hasn’t been in a compelling role for quite some time, and it was immensely refreshing to watch him actually care enough about the movie to give the role his all. Coogan is known for his comedic acting, but he really has a knack for serious acting, and Paul is a wonderfully multifaceted character who you both like and hate at the same time. Rebecca Hall is solid, but sadly isn’t given a WHOLE lot to work with in comparison to the other actors, but I honestly can’t complain. The real kicker here is Laura Linney, though. I’ve loved Laura for DECADES, but she really steals the show as one of the most jarring and complete 180 degree turn characters that will have your jaw on the floor. The conversation between her son on the phone near the final act is so incredibly chilling nuanced that I had to stop and rewind to see it again.

Now, even though I loved the acting, I have to admit that The Dinner is sometimes a laborious film to sit through. The movie likes to jump around the time periods a good bit with some really sharp fades. One moment we’re in the middle of them having dinner, and the next second we’re watching some moment of Paul’s neurosis, or seeing the kids do what they did to get them in this predicament, and each little segment only tells a little bit of the story. That in and of itself is not a bad thing as it allows the character flaws in each individual to rise to the surface. The only problem is that I feel it would have been better on paper than in motion. Something which could be described of a great deal during the film. I just can’t shake this feeling that the movie could have been much more in the novel (and by all accounts IS just so), and loses some in the translation to screen.




Rating:

Rated R for disturbing violent content, and language throughout.




Video:

The 1.85:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is incredibly well done, but also one that has been tweaked incessantly for stylistic purposes. I couldn’t find ANY information about the cameras used, and while I want to lean in the direction of saying that it has an actual film source, I can’t say for certain. All I can say is that the movie is given several distinct looks and tones to it. The scenes at the restaurant appear with deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep dark reds and golden highlights, while the flashbacks tend to be more pastel with overblown highlights and some rather toned down contrast levels. Black levels are superb (for the most part) and fine detail is usually above reproach. That being said, there is some guaziness to the image that seems intentional in nature, and that little bit of hazy, gauzy feeling does appear to rob some fine detail from the image. Artifacts are limited to some banding and a few moments where I swore I saw some crushing in the dark reds of the restaurant.




Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is what you would expect of a low key drama. The dialog is the mainstay of the track, while all of the rest of the activity is simple ambiance. With that in mind, the ambiance for the simple movie is really quite nice. The sounds of the restaurant flow evenly throughout the sound state, and the spacing is impressive, especially when you can hear Paul’s mind closing in on him and it creates a sort of “compression” around the listener. LFE is tight and clean, but mainly reserved for a fist hitting the table, the opening few moments of the movie where it REALLY hits you in the chest. Surrounds are well placed and use some nice ambient background noises to affect the directionality, but overall it’s a fairly simple track. One that does everything well, but simple indeed.
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Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Oren Moverman and Actress Laura Linney
• Photo Gallery

Final Score: ​

The Dinner is what I like to call an incredibly acted mess. The acting is superb, and the characterizations are flawless (unlike the characters themselves), but the actual implementation of the film is an utter mess (literally). It feels sloppy and discombobulated at times, with an ending that really has you scratching your head. I get that the idea was to have a character drama more than anything, but the esoteric nature of the source material doesn’t seem to translate to screen all the way. Still, definitely an interesting watch and good solid audio/video presentation from Lionsgate.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall
Directed by: Oren Moverman
Written by: Oren Moverman (Screenplay), Herman Koch (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 120 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 1st, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will add this to my watch list.