Beyond Suspicion
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Anne Heche, Nancy Travis, Timothy Olyphant
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Interviews, Alternate Ending, Trailer, Biographies
Rating:
Okay, things get really weird when you come across a movie that, according to the Internet Movie Database, doesn’t even exist. I tried all sorts of searches on this film until eventually it turned out,it was listed under the title ’Auggie Rose.’ So, the name was changed… and it was turned into a direct-to-TV release… well all stigma aside, I decided to take a look at the film itself. ’Beyond Suspicion’ is a solid thriller that actually contains some great elements and dark, gritty moments of real mystery. Jeff Goldblum is good as ever but sadly this is yet another film that is ultimately destroyed by Anne Heche’s inability to play believable characters. The characters in this story are clearly too complex for her to grasp, which is actually a compliment to the film and its script – albeit hardly to the actress. Anyhow, ultimately ’Beyond Suspicion’ is a solid piece that will keep you absorbed for its entire running length and one can only hope that we’ll hear and see more from director Matthew Tabak in the future.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing us ’Beyond Suspicion’ in a widescreen presentation in the film’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio. To my surprise, the transfer is not enhanced for widescreen TV sets, but nonetheless is of remarkable clarity and detail. The definition and sharpness of the transfer is extremely good and it is also mostly free of edge-enhancement, creating a very solid look. The presentation is also free of blemishes, such as scratches, giving the image a very clean and stable look throughout. Colors are beautifully rendered and powerful without ever being over-saturated. The blacks in the transfer are very deep, giving outstanding depth to the image itself, while the compression, too, is without any artifacts or problems.
The disc contains a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track that is nicely produced. Surrounds are used frequently and effectively, but are never obtrusive. The track much rather uses ambient sound effects in the surrounds to create a wide and engrossing sound field than (ab)using it for effects purposes. The frequency response is wide and absolutely natural with a very good bass extension. Good dynamic range makes sure the track can pound away at full-strength when necessary, yet remain restrained and clear at others. The Dolby surrounds audio tracks that are also on the disc are also very good, although not nearly as dynamic or engaging, but present a more compacted version of the audio, which is especially good for lower listening volumes.
The disc also contains an alternate ending and a 3-minute interview featurette of little value. However, the DVD also comes with two separate audio commentaries. Especially the first one, featuring writer/director Matthew Tabak and Jeff Goldblum is very interesting and insightful. It is an excursion in many areas of the film, form the characters to the shoot and technical issues. The second one featuring Tabak once again, this time with producer Daniel Stone, is also very good, but focuses more on production aspects.
