Wakefield - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Wakefield

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

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Movie
There are some movies that you watch JUST because of the lead characters. Bryan Cranston is one of those actors that no matter the role I’m going to tune in and check him out. Wakefield is originally based off of a short story by writer E.L. Doctorow (who has since passed on), which was originally published in The New Yorker before put into a book of his short stories some time ago. The movie features a descent into madness from the perspective of the afflicted, and creates an allegorical tale of selfishness, greed, manipulation and passion that is out of control. All from the perspective and narration of one man’s cracked psyche. There’s an element of horror, and element of classic thriller, as well as an element of sad dramatic irony going on here, and all three elements are played perfectly by our resident star and narrator, Bryan Cranston.

Bryan Cranston is Howard Wakefield, a business executive at a law firm who is feeling trapped in his life. He lives day in and day out as your dutiful husbandly type character who is just frustrated at feeling not wanted. His wife, Diana (Jennifer Garner), is kind of a nag (at least by his narration) and he has had one too many fights with her. Holding a bit of a grudge against her, Mr. Wakefield decides that he’s going to spend the night in the detached storage garage a few yards from the house (the original story had him taking up an apartment across the street). As the hours turn into a day, Wakefield sees the pain and anguish that it puts on his wife and the sadistic side of him wants to see how far he can take this. Soon he’s living like an animal in the upper garage as the days turn into weeks, and weeks into months.

The entire film is basically a one man show as Bryan Cranston breaks the 4th wall with each and every word, dialoging with the audience as he relays his experiences told through flashbacks of his “old” life. The more he talks the more you realize that Howard is really slightly nuts. He completely believes that he’s loving his wife through this “separation”, and you watch the story unfold through his eyes. The thing is, how he describes the situations at hand and how they look to the viewer are completely polar opposite. Thus perpetuating the supposition that Howard is slowly going nuts while isolated up in his little “home away from home”.

Cranston really REALLY carries the film. As much as you see the actions of Jennifer Garner and his two children, Bryan is a one man actor who literally dominates every second of the movie. The entire film is seen through his eyes, heard through his words, and understood through his actions. We watch the mentally detached man peel back the onion layers around his persona, and it’s not a pretty story. What seems like a bit of a selfish prank by a frustrated man is turned on it’s ear when you see the manipulation and cold selfishness of Wakefield during his life. The story about how he won over Diana is coldly chilling as you see his twisted manipulation at play. The same thing can be said when he is emotionally hurt and angry when his daughters don’t pay him the attention that he feels is is due him, as well as the delusional self pandering that ensues as Wakefield assures himself that his absence is completely beneficial (despite the months stretching out to a year).

The film is laborious at times, and sometimes feels like a test of your patient as the film is a very slow burn, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Cranston is magnificent in the role of the film’s narrator and star, weaving a sense of intensity and emotional appeal, despite his unhinged personality. Garner does what she can, but it’s more due to the fact that she’s nothing more than a mime in the film that keeps her from being as prolifically intriguing as her husband is. It’s incredibly hypnotic, and also amazingly sad to see Howard lose touch with reality, yet still somehow maintain his sanity. In some ways you have to take the movie literally in that Howard is going crazy, but at other times it’s almost an allegorical story about losing oneself in the madness of everyday life.




Rating:

Rated R for some sexual material and language




Video:

[/FLOAT_LEFTI couldn’t find any technical information on the filming process for Wakefield, but it is presented on Blu-ray with a decent looking 1080p image compressed onto a BD-25 (which isn’t a big deal as the extras are nothing more than 5 minutes of trailers). The film is rather hard to analyze at times, as it has a lot of shots of Howard looking through a glass window at people from a distance. As such there is some minute softness to the image, as well as a light haze and gauze over the darkness of his attic abode. Still, there is plenty of fine detail in the picture, with Cranston’s craggy features show in all their glory. There’s no major artifacting that I can detect, and the overall clarity is more than satisfactory with the cool blue color grading.





Audio:

Shout Factory has given the disc the standard 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD MA track to enjoy, and naturally we choose the 5.1 mix. The film is given what I call a “minimalistic” experience. Besides a few background noises of things scraping on the attic floor, or the bustle of a street corner when he decides to come out from solitude, but other than that 99% of the film’s weight is all carried up front in the center channel with Cranston’s constant narration. The audio mix is solid, and does everything asked, but the ambiance and dynamic range are really called to do much besides flicker mildly as Wakefield growls into the camera.
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Extras:

• Trailer

Final Score: ​

Wakefield is a movie about an unlikable man doing some pretty crazy stuff, but it allows us to watch up close the destruction of man on his life, and his subsequent rebuilding of what matters most to him. There are some flaws along the way, and the movie can feel overly long for the subject matter and lack of supporting vocal characters, but Cranston really bears the weight of the film on his shoulders amazingly well. His visceral and intoxicating persona of Howard Wakefield is enough to keep anyone watching, and it builds up to the inevitable conclusion with a slow, but stead, pace that really allows you to see the full flaws of the man in question. Shout Factory’s Blu-ray is well done, although there are no real extras of any substantial nature, but still worth a good solid watch.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Garner, Beverly D'Angelo
Directed by: Robin Swicord
Written by: Robin Swicord
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 109 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. As a fan of Bryan Cranston, I will definitely check this one out.

 

[Asere]

I had forgotten about this title. I am a fan too and will watch it soon.

 

[JBrax]

Thanks for the review Mike. I've been looking forward to this one and pretty much anything with him in it I end up liking.