Suze (Andrea Riseborough) and Arthur (Harry Melling) are an outwardly traditional bohemian couple living on the Lower East side. After encountering a gang of violent leather-clad greasers known as The Young Gents, the pair discover previously unexplored desires and begin to question the confines of gender, monogamy, and the sexual status quo. Colorful, musical and witty, filmmaker Amanda Kramer’s visionary riff on 1950s masculinity plays like a high camp emission from your wildest dreams.
For in-depth thoughts on Please Baby Please, please see my colleague Larry Fried’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Please Baby Please comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is simply gorgeous. This is a visually distinct, dreamy film with striking shots of dancing against carefully manicured backgrounds where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The transfer retains the intended heightened look where subtle elements of the costumes and production design are able to come through. The skin tones and makeup look very detailed and natural all around.
The film is bursting with bold colors in nearly every frame with countless moments that really pop off the screen. This film uses lighting almost as if it is another character as it plays with the complementary production elements that make this world feel so alive. The highlights are handled beautifully, along with the deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. This presentation represents this film perfectly.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track that perfectly handles the unique artistic endeavors of the narrative. The film uses music in really evocative ways that fill the room with grand fidelity. The dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overshadowed by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely crafted as the on screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really fun soundscape that replicate the world in a believable manner. This is not an action-heavy film, but activity in the low end is handled well thanks to the music. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really memorable way. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Amanda Kramer and actors Alisa Torres and Matt D’Elia provide an entertaining commentary track in which they give background details on how they pulled off some of the film’s musical sequences, memories from the production, the shooting locations, goofing around on set and more. This is such a jovial track that fans should not miss.
- Isolated Musical Score & Sound Design: An option to watch the film with only the amazing musical score and sound design audible.
- Alamo Drafthouse PSA: A humorous minute-long piece created for the “No Talking” PSA campaign at Alamo Drafthouse.
- Cast and Crew Q&A From LA Premiere: A nearly 42-minute Q&A from the LA Premiere in October 2022 with writer/director Amanda Kremer, editor Benjamin Shearn, cinematographer Patrick Meade Jones, production designer Bette Adams and actors Ryan Simpkins, Alisa Torres and Matt D’Elia. In this piece the participants discuss the place on gender and genre fluidity within the film, throwing subtlety out of the window, the casting process, the participation of Demi Moore, the editing process, the look of the film and the specific production design, how the film came to be and more.
- Deleted Scenes and Outtakes: Nearly ten-minutes of unused material is provided here in a slightly unfinished form which mostly focuses on moments with Suze.
- Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (1:38) and Character Teasers (3:53).
- Original Moodboard Gallery: Various stills that served as inspiration for the look of the film are provided here.
- Arthur and Suze – A Video Essay: A seven-minute piece by Chris O’Neill which takes a look at the highly stylized journey that the two main characters take from their introduction following an act of violence to the sexually fluid and liberating places they discover throughout.
- Amanda Kramer Short Films
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- Requests: A six-minute dreamy piece about lounge singers who are attempting to sing a song that meets the needs of every audience member.
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- Sin Ultra: A nearly nine-minute music-driven piece which takes on how dead young women are used in entertainment.
Final Thoughts
Please Baby Please will not be for everyone, but those who do jive with it will fall head over heels for it. The highly campy tone is reminiscent of some of the best of queer cinema from the past. All of the performers are fearless as they bring this unique fluid odyssey to life. The film is sharp and abrasive when it even gets close to being somewhat conventional, and the way in which it refuses to compromise is completely admirable. Music Box Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation and a fantastic assortment of special features. While this movie will not be for all, if you are a fan of unabashedly queer films in general you should have a good time. Recommended
Please Baby Please is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Music Box Films Home Entertainment 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.
