James Norton (Bob Marley: One Love, Happy Valley, Little Women), stars as John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, who has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child’s mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation. As John struggles to find the right answer to his impossible task, he comes to accept the help of a young social worker, opening himself to solutions he would never have considered. And he finally comes to accept his anger at the injustice of his destiny, the need to share the truth with his son, and to follow the child’s instincts on the biggest decision of their lives.
For in-depth thoughts on Nowhere Special, please see my colleague Phil Walsh’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Nowhere Special comes to Blu-Ray with a pleasing 1080p presentation that brings this story to life without a hiccup. This is a visually pristine but stylistically reserved film with detailed shots of the city and the homefront where you can see an incredible amount of texture. The natural color palette supplies a faithful depth in elements of the lighting, clothing, and production design. Skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. The highlights are handled favorably with no signs of blooming in sight. Black levels are deep and do not appear weak when it comes to compression artifacts. We did not spot any instances of intrusive digital noise in the presentation. Cohen Media Group has offered up a top-notch presentation for this one.
Audio Quality
The film comes to Blu-Ray with a worthy DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that matches the excellence of the video. Dialogue and sound effects are balanced effectively with the score where nothing gets lost in the track. Surround channels get some nice activity with the ambiance of the various environments. The score from Andrew Simon McAllister establishes the tone of the film as it emanates with peerless fidelity. The movie features virtually nothing in the way of action, but there is a consistent stream of environmental activity that comes through well. The low end of the track is not a significant presence, as subtle environmental sounds make a greater impression in the surrounds. This track does what it needs to do very well. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
- Interview with Uberto Pasolini, James Norton, and Daniel Lamont by Anna Smith A 33-minute interview with the filmmaker and the performers in which they discuss the inspiration for the story, what drew them to the material, developing a genuine relationship between the performers playing father and son, not spotlighting death within the story, and much more.
- The Making of Nowhere Special: A ten-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the creation of the film, working with the young performer, the direction of Uberto Pasolini, and more.
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half-long trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Nowhere Special is a reserved but immensely impactful drama that never leans on easy emotional manipulation. James Norton is fantastic in the lead role as a man who has to shoulder so much responsibility while rarely allowing it to peek through to protect his son. The young actor playing Michael likewise puts forth a very natural performance that is impressive for this age. The film does not overstay its welcome, and it plays out perfectly compared to how it is set up. Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have released a Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a couple of decent supplemental features. Recommended
Nowhere Special is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have 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.
