I think the reason Surveillance didn’t, “Do it for me,” was that it’s just so darned… vanilla. The film is well shot, it’s got an at least somewhat original idea going for it, but it’s not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. While the game changes as it approaches its finale and the last 20 minutes end up being more memorable than most everything else, when the credits rolled I didn’t really feel anything. This surprised me, as the final shot is rather picturesque and poetic. Enough even, that had I been fully hooked into the movie until then it would’ve made a much longer lasting impression. Lynch sets up and executes her plays without boxing herself into any logical corners, but minor faults nonetheless keep Surveillance from being something I can see myself returning to anytime soon.
Agents Anderson and Hallaway (Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman, respectively), have come to investigate an occurrence on a scenic stretch of road early one sunny day. Just what exactly happened is something you’ll spend the majority of the next 93 minutes figuring out. You’ll spend an awful lot of time in a boring police station in the middle of nowhere, and an equal amount of time on that same scenic road, out in the middle of nowhere. With only two locations to get accustomed to, it’s easy to become tired of looking at the same stuff all the time, because there are only so many ways to frame a shot of Bill Pullman staring at a monitor, and they’re exhausted well before the film is done.
What we have here is a story in the grand tradition of Kurosawa’s Rashômon and McTiernan’s Basic. Witnesses are questioned on the events that took place, some tell the truth, some lie. Unfortunately, Surveillance doesn’t offer anything new to the table. It relies on one key sequence to strike a nerve in anyone watching, and to its credit, that particular scene got a reaction out of me. I wasn’t expecting it and for the rest of the way through I was much more compelled than I’d been before. But like I said, once the dust settled, I just hadn’t become connected enough to any of the characters for any of it to stick. The most enjoyment I got out of Surveillance was a moment or two of genuine surprise, and a moment or two of fondness as I considered its denouement. Beyond that, I really don’t think it’ll find its way into my player again for quite a while. Blu-ray Picture and Sound:
Sometimes I was impressed here, but not often. Black levels are unrealistic and smudgy colors bleed into each other in the darker areas of the screen. A very fine layer of grain takes up most of the background, but adds a nice aesthetic, and I’m glad there wasn’t any blatant DNR that I saw. Fabric details are nondescript but facial clarity is good overall. The film employs a sort of foggy visual style that mutes some of the colors and makes lens flares appear very striking, and overall I’d say the Blu-ray portrays this nicely. It’s an okay looking disc, but nowhere near demo material. The sound quality is fine for my ears.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
"Surveillance: The Watched are Watching" is the headlining featurette, and you should know what to expect from it. The other brief piece is a promo spot from HDNet, and following are deleted scenes and an alternate ending, with optional commentary by Jennifer Lynch. Finally, a commentary with Jennifer Lynch, Mac Miller and Charlie Newmark, and about eight minutes of trailers round out the disc. Final Thought:
I’ve got nothing against Surveillance. It ends up with a nice cocky tone about it. There’s even a good bit of the red stuff near the end. But it’s nothing special. If you’re looking for something to put on your queue, you could do worse.
