While I have personally never had experience with the original 1941 Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit, by all accounts it is quite popular for its snappy, hilarious dialogue and zany spectral antics. Previously adapted for the screen in 1945 by David Lean, this update from TV director Edward Hall maintains the period setting while getting a thematic modern update from Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard, and Piers Ashworth. Perhaps it is due to my unfamiliarity with the source material that I cannot quite conjure the vitriol that the critical reception has unleashed. This new film is not amazing, but it has a breezy charm to it that keeps you satisfied, if not ever completely won over. This can mostly be attributed to the talents of incredible comedic performers such as Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, and Leslie Mann. You can never shake the sense that the trio deserves better material than what they are given, but they have such distinct personalities that you still have a pleasant time. Pleasant may be enough for certain audience members, but those looking for a genuinely winning comedy need to look elsewhere.
Charles (Dan Stevens, The Rental) is an award-winning crime fiction writer who has been tasked with turning one of his books into a screenplay. From the very first moments we find him at his typewriter, we can sense how much he is struggling. The lone word he can seem to eek out in the midst of his writer’s block is a feeble “help.” His wife, Ruth (Isla Fisher, Wedding Crashers), is a bit confounded by this, and more than a bit embarrassed since her father, a producer at Pinewood Studios, is the one who gave Charles the job. What she does not know is that Charles relied heavily on his deceased wife, Elvira (Leslie Mann), for inspiration and he finds himself creatively adrift without her. One evening Charles and friends attend a stage show by Madame Arcati (Judi Dench, Casino Royale), an eccentric but blatantly fraudulent medium, which inspires him to include a supernatural element in the script. Upon inviting her to his residence for a material-gathering private show, Madame Arcati manages to genuinely make contact with the spirit world for the first time ever.
It is with the reappearance of Elvira that the movie begins to come alive. The vibrant spirit is not thrilled to find her husband has found love with another woman, and she derives great pleasure in the fact that he is the only person who can see her – all the better to torture him. The film admittedly recycles certain gags far too often, such as Charles yelling at a spirit no one else can see. Things are much more playful, though, when Ruth accepts that Charles is not crazy and she is suddenly in a metaphysical love triangle with the woman she knows her husband still daydreams about. One thing I do know about Coward is his gift for dialogue, but in this adaptation smart dialogue seems to be traded off for easy pratfalls. The performers confidently tackle this material, but their innate charisma can only take them so far. The women fair the best out of this situation; Mann delights with ruthless sass, while Fisher conjures a timeless screwball charm. Stevens seems a bit tepid in comparison, which only goes to accentuate the heavy-handed feminist angle the story tries to land with grace. The sentiment is admirable but needed more time to develop thoroughly.
Blithe Spirit is the type of film you give an appreciative smirk to rather than anything in the realm of a full-bodied laugh. The film is harmless, but it passes over you without trying to make any lasting impression. Where there should be sharp retorts you find limp ideas. The film attempts some deeper emotional payoff with the character of Madame Arcati that is not in the play, but it does not feel earned. Dench is a wonderful actor, but this character in particular feels ill-conceived in this version by making her less over-the-top. The film is most interesting when our three main leads are bouncing off one another, but the real ghost hanging around is the ghost of what this movie could have been under different supervision. If you need something mostly mindless (and toothless) to throw on for a distraction, there is nothing particularly objectionable about Blithe Spirit. This is especially true if you are a fan of the performers. It exemplifies passable entertainment and nothing more.
Video Quality
Blithe Spirit comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is quite fetching. This is a beautifully shot film with many expansive shots of the open countryside where you can see an incredible amount of detail. There are numerous sequences featuring vegetation and trees in the background that provide a nice reference to showcase the depth at play in the image. The film plays very well with the bright colors on display from the greens of the foliage to the striking hues from the costumes. This is a film with a natural color palette that is reproduced perfectly here with a pleasing radiance. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are no obvious signs of any noise or other such digital nuisances. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is definitely top-tier work.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that conjures a cheery mood that transports you to this time and place. This is a fairly subdued film, but there are moments that give the track a chance to come alive. The score is showcased beautifully here with a gently enveloping use of the surround speakers. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the environmental effects or the score. The sound design is precisely executed alongside the on screen visuals with all of the sounds placed just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of subtle weather effects and some crowd chatter at the theater and anniversary party. This is not an action-heavy film, so the activity in the low end is reserved for a few key moments. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really splendid way.
Special Features
- Behind The Scenes Of Blithe Spirit: A seven-minute piece in which the cast and crew discuss the film, the characters they play, pulling off comedy on film, the costumes, the aesthetic of the film and more.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Blithe Spirit is not a particularly humorous film, but it is pleasant enough to capture your attention for an hour-and-a-half. Without the performances from our lead trio, this film would be much tougher to make it through. I would say Noël Coward fans might want to check this out, but it would seem this does not capture any of the magic of the source material. If you go in not expecting greatness, you also may find this a fine use of your time. Shout! Factory has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pleasing A/V presentation and a small assortment of special features.
Blithe Spirit is currently available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
