Against seemingly all of the odds, Donnie Darko slowly became something of a cult hit after its premiere at Sundance and a disastrous run at the box office that was hindered somewhat by the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Once the film hit home video and critics championed the striking debut from director Richard Kelly, audiences found themselves sucked into this complex, mind-bending world in greater and greater numbers. Given the nature of his debut, it seems kind of silly to believe that Kelly would ever deliver anything with great mainstream appeal, but his follow-up Southland Tales confounded people upon its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and floundered at the box office in 2007 after it was restructured and cut by fifteen minutes. The core idea had been hatched before 9/11, but that attack and our country’s subsequent response completely shifted the tone of the film and delved deeper into issues of civil liberties, the fuel crisis and society’s obsession with celebrity. This sophomore effort was wildly ambitious, notably more so than its predecessor, but so far the cultural reappraisal has not yet happened with this effort. With this new package from Arrow Video which includes both the Theatrical and Cannes Cut of the film, perhaps that will change?
To try to understand everything that is going on in Southland Tales almost feels like a fool’s errand. It is a film that demands you just go along with the narrative and trust that the film knows what it is talking about. In the reality of the film, twin nuclear attacks destroyed two towns in Texas on July 4th, 2005, and America has subsequently devolved into a totalitarian state domestically while fighting World War III abroad. In the three years since the attack, the government has granted a tech company known as USIDent the ability to constantly surveil citizens and even censor the internet. An underground neo-Marxist resistance led by a cadre of SNL alums (Nora Dunn, Cheri Oteri and Amy Poehler) seek to break free from their newly-earned oppression. The film twists and turns through many different plot points, but the major stories break down into a few different overarching segments.
Movie star-turned-screenwriter Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) has disappeared from his public life in the Republican circle and reappeared elsewhere with amnesia and the belief he is someone known as Jericho Cane. This might have something to do with interdimensional travel, and he may or may not have written a script that correctly foretells the end of the world. He is now romantically involved with porn star/reality TV entrepreneur Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who we can only say has some interesting ideas to say the least. This tryst does not sit well with Boxer’s actual wife Madeline (Mandy Moore), who is the daughter of a Senator running for Vice President, as well as Nana Mae (Miranda Richardson), who just so happens to run USIDent. Let’s not forget about Seann William Scott as twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner who are unsure about their identities but are mixed up in law enforcement and helping Boxer with developing a cop character for his script.
You would be forgiven if you cannot keep everything straight. Even with the benefit of seeing this brought to life on screen, the scenario is absurdly all over the place. Since the film’s release, Kelly himself says he may have made a miscalculation by throwing the audiences to the wolves with a film that covers chapters 4-6 of an ongoing story that began in graphic novel form a few months before the theatrical bow. Even if you were invested enough to read this beforehand, there is always a sense that Kelly was layering new ideas into the story in a way that made for a messy time – he is on record as saying he is not completely satisfied with any cut of the film. Nevertheless, the sheer gusto with which he tackles this project has to be admired on some level. He is a director that takes bold swings, and the effort is entertaining even with its numerous flaws and opaque narrative.
There are signs that the film is not meant to be taken too seriously. Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) plays a “mad scientist” named Baron von Westphalen who is slowly sending Earth to an early grave by harnessing the currents of the ocean for an energy source (he also might be creating wormholes). Kevin Smith is caked in makeup as a legless war veteran who works for him. Zelda Rubinstein even taps into her Poltergeist roots for her line readings. Hell, Justin Timberlake is a major character – he keeps things grounded as a narrator – who provides a highlight of the film: Kelly thought it would be a cool idea to use The Killers’ “All These Things I’ve Done” for a musical number and he was 100% correct. As a filmmaker, Kelly has failed to create a completely cohesive film, but we are sure that the story makes sense in his head. It’s baffling but not boring. It’s a beautiful mess mostly because Kelly dared to reach for the stars. Even the new Cannes Cut does not give fans the clarity that audiences may want, but it flows a bit better and characters are fleshed out without the need for a huge exposition dump early in the film. The film is still working with some screwy logic, but it is one that we would not mind exploring further if Kelly is serious about returning to this world in the near future.
Video Quality
Southland Tales has been exclusively restored by Arrow Video with a stellar 1080p transfer in its original 2.39:1 sourced from a 2K restoration for both the Theatrical Cut and Cannes Cut versions. Footage that is unique to the Cannes Cut was sourced from the same workflow as the Theatrical Cut and everything was supervised by Director Richard Kelly and Director of Photography Steven Poster. This presentation is a knockout that preserves the unique aesthetic that Kelly employs throughout with the different sources including surveillance cameras and computer monitors supplementing the “natural” environment. The level of clarity and detail on this release is truly something to behold. There are very subtle details in the production design that are visible here for the first time from tiny details in the clothing to small background elements. The black levels are extremely deep and allow for true detail to come through. Skin tones are natural and lend themselves to showcasing an amazing amount of detail. Colors are nice and vibrant as certain moments really pop off the screen. For the Cannes Cut of the film, there are never any moments when the new footage seems to be a downgrade in quality. Arrow Video has done an excellent job of restoring this, as all anomalies have been cleaned up without messing with the natural look of the film. Those who have been waiting for this one to be faithfully restored on Blu-Ray should feel it was worth the wait.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that sonically represents the film perfectly. The activity focuses heavily on the front channels with dialogue proving to be the driving force of the film. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The “All These Things That I’ve Done” scene really comes alive in the speakers in a pleasing manner. The perplexing dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get some occasional activity with ambient sounds from some of the more sci-fi and environmental elements. There is a healthy amount of low-end support when the scene calls for it, but it is not a heavy hitter in this regard. Optional English subtitles are included on the disc. This track is a perfect representation of the film on home entertainment.
Special Features
The first-pressing of the Arrow Video Blu-Ray of Southland Tales includes a booklet featuring the essay “No Sophomore Slump: The Delirious Heights Of Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales” by author Peter Tonguette. This essay provides great context for Kelly’s career, the development of this film and a strong argument for why this film was an important part of Kelly’s artistic journey. There is also the essay “Filling The Post-Donnie Darko Void – The Southland Tales Official Website” by film historian Simon Ward in which he recalls his personal journey with the film’s website before it was acquired by Sony. This is a fun look back at early internet marketing. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Director Richard Kelly recorded a commentary in a pre-election 2008 in which he spends a large portion of the runtime elaborating on the plot based on the information in the chapters not included in this film. You can tell that Kelly has a very clear sense of what he wants this story to be, but the way in which he chose to frame it led to great confusion with the audience. Well worth a listen if you want a better handle on what is happening in this film.
- It’s A Madcap World – The Making Of An Unfinished Film: A three-part documentary piece in which Kelly and various other behind-the-scenes figures discuss the the evolution of the film, the trajectory from Donnie Darko to Southland Tales, the innovations in storytelling, the process of shooting the film, the bold choices from the performers, crafting the ending for the film, the reception of the film and more.
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- Through The Looking Glass (18:46)
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- This Is The Way The World Ends (21:31)
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- Have A Nice Apocalypse (10:37)
- USIDent TV – Surveilling The Southland: A 34-minute archival featurette in which the cast and crew explore the story of the film and the process of bringing it to the screen. This piece is really beneficial since it is one of the few pieces where you get to hear input from the performers even if it’s not through the context of retrospect. The insights are worthwhile.
- This Is The Way The World Ends: A nine-minute animated short that further explores the Southland Tales universe. Like the film, there is a lot of trippy stuff within this one.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
- Image Gallery: A large collection of images from the film are provided here.
Final Thoughts
Southland Tales is a bold swing from the inventive mind of Richard Kelly that does not connect but is fascinating in its missteps. The cast of characters that he assembled with this film is astounding, and he pushes everyone beyond their comfort zones in an effort to show new shades of their abilities. It leads to some “big” performances, but it is steeped in fun. The film is perplexing and almost volatile towards the audience, but it never feels like a chore to embark upon. Arrow Video has given this one a new lease on life by not only shining a spotlight on the Theatrical Cut once again, but by also providing the long sought-after Cannes Cut that corrects some of the problems of the known cut while adding a few more. Couple this with a spectacular A/V presentation and some insightful special features and you have set that fans of this oddity will eat up. Recommended
Southland Tales is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video 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.
