Review of Storytelling

Introduction

After watching Todd Solondz`s last film `Happiness` the thought of sitting through another of his movies gave me very mixed feelings. Happiness is one of those films that has some very dark comedy and drama and is more then a little unsettling.

Storytelling continues Solondz`s trademark comedy and drama and lays down a very interesting premise, present two short films that are about the same broad subject matter but differ wildly in storylines and have absolutely no common theme`s or actors. He even uses very different filming techniques for both stories.

The first film we see (the shorter of the pair) is `Fiction` and concerns the disturbed, turbulent relationship Vi (Selma Blair) has with both Marcus (Leo Fitzpatrick), her cerebral palsy stricken lover, and there English professor Mr Scott (Robert Wisdom).

Without wishing to give much away this film is challenging, very abrupt and ultimately leaves you thinking that after all the character investment (of which there is a great amount) Solondz could have just allowed the film to play out for a little while longer then its meagre 20mins. It`s almost like he lacked the conviction to let the film pan out to its ultimate end.

The second film `Non Fiction` is the most accessible of the pair.
It primarily deals with Toby Oxman`s (Paul Giamatti) attempts to use Scooby Livingston (Mark Webber), your typical `New Jersey` stoner drop out, and his family as the basis for a teen documentary and the life changing events that happen to Scooby during that time.

This film is peppered with Solondz`s dark humour and takes many pokes at middle class society and its failings but I did find myself thinking that again the film seemed stifled, like it had been too ruthlessly edited and all the best bits left scattered on the cutting room floor.

Video

The presentation is very grainy throughout and I wonder if this was the deliberate intention of Solondz or because of the film stock. I think this was filmed on 16mm stock and blown up to 35mm for a cinema release.

The grain does not detract from the film and I could find no other technical problems with the presentation.

The visuals of the first film are quite stark are vivid however the second film is shot in a far more subdued manner with much darker colouring.

Audio

Audio is hardly either the DVD or the films strong point.
A Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is provided however you would be hard placed to notice any surround action not that either film requires it.

There is also some noticeable `hum` and `pops` present in the soundtrack that I found distracting on a number of occasions.

Features

Unfortunately, for something that is such a new release, we only get a single trailer for the second film `Non Fiction`.

Even the menus are static for the most part and simplistic.

Conclusion

Storytelling as a movie (or movies) should not overly disappoint Solondz fans and has the same cutting qualities as his other films. It manages to keep his trademark pitch-black humour and a good healthy does of satire but is no where near as disturbing or noteworthy as its predecessor.

Unfortunately, storytelling as a DVD is a very poor effort, a not uncommon event for Entertainment in Video, the publishers :-(.

It carry`s the common £19.99 price tag and for that I would have expected far more from the DVD. The complete lack of interesting extras is a crying shame and the presentation of the film could have easily have been more polished.

Somehow I just get the feeling that after Solondz has managed to produce the beginnings of something that starts to nudge the boundaries of commercial cinema that both the film and the DVD feel `unfinished`, like a project that everybody tired of long before being forced to finish it off.

Worth watching, especially if you`re a Solondz`s fan however I would not rush to add this DVD to your permanent collection.