IS ANYBODY THERE?

By: Iggy and Erin Michniacki on 11.22.2009

The Movie Itself:
Prolific film actor and winner of two Oscars, not to mention the countless nominations, Michael Caine apparently took a significant pay cut for this film. There must be something worth watching in a film like that—and there is. A true to life feel to this story accentuated by incredible acting and near cathartic climax gave Caine enough reason to jump headfirst into the role in, “Is Anybody There?”

An aging gentleman with more moments of senility than sanity, Clarence (Caine) is forced into a less than perfect home for the elderly. Here, Clarence meets Edward (Bill Milner). Edward is the unfortunate child who suffers from a severe need for contact with the living—that is, people who are not aging and crazy. The home for the elderly his parents started only one year prior to the exposition, is a constant source of discomfort for the young boy. The small home is filled to the brim with aging individuals who have a handful of marbles among themselves.

Having given up his bedroom to a man who was bed ridden, he becomes obsessed with the dead, or the spirits of the dead. The man who was in his room passes suddenly and before Edward can think of moving back in, the room is given away to the equally-unhappy-to-be-there-grumpy-old-man, Clarence.

Not much is given of Clarence’s background except that he was a magician at one point and he has been reduced to living in his traveling magician’s camper.

When Edward discovers the incredible magic tricks that Clarence does, he begins to see him in a new light. The boy no longer sees Clarence as an invalid who contributes nothing to society; he now holds valuable bits of wisdom. Edward creeps into Clarence’s heart, and Clarence begins to behave more like a grandfather than a grumpy, old, and childless man.

Along with their friendship building, we discover that Edward is not the most popular kid at school. Predictability level certainly goes up with this aspect of the film as Clarence helps Edward be more personable and less obsessed with creeping out kids by talking about ghosts and dead people. This is just a side note in the plot however as it becomes apparent that Clarence’s dementia is overrunning what is left of his life. Cue people helping people and relating in ways never thought possible.

Caine did an outstanding job in the role of Clarence, I can’t imagine anyone in the world being capable of what he has done here. He completely dove head first into this role leaving the audience to believe, maybe Caine really is senile? The entire cast played each part so individually well, especially Bill Milner who is just a child, one can only believe that the people who put this movie together were flipping geniuses.

I think that an older individual may appreciate this film more than my 24 year old self can. The majority of the population cannot relate to an aging old man. It is however, commendable to address the difficulties of growing old. For one thing, the film does a great job of illustrating how ridiculously fast time goes by. For a society obsessed with youth, the world is in need of some understanding of the trials that come with aging.

That said, the movie is completely on the predictable side. But, because of the incredible performances from all players in this inventive story, it becomes irrelevant whether or not it is predictable. The movie focuses on behaviors of people rather than plot really. There is a beautiful and heartwarming story that goes along, but I really felt the introspective dimension coming through as the most important part.

While this review may be contradictory to itself, let me wrap it up by saying; this is a good movie. A great chance to witness amaaaaazzzzing acting. If you are a Caine fan, definitely watch it. And while yes the film is full of great characters and acting, there seems to be too much lacking in the plot that I just can’t put my finger on. So, while I recommend the film, just be cautious and aware that it’s no great masterpiece.
Rating: x/10

The Presentation:
Is Anybody There? comes to Blu-ray via Magnolia and to be quite honest, Magnolia has been hit or miss. They are a small company, with smaller budgets and I thoroughly appreciate what they are doing by bringing independent and smaller releases to high definition. Do I have you worried yet? Well, don’t get too worried because Is Anybody There? is on the brighter side of Magnolia’s presentation list.

Coming to Blu-ray in full 1080p through a VC-1 encode, and even though this disc is only a single-layer, 25 GB disc it still looks rather nice. Colors are the most notable benefit of this Blu-ray transfer, and even in this dark, somewhat muted look of a movie they shine bright and true. Detail on characters is wonderful as well, with stubble being clear and the clothing styles being full of life. The image is a bit flat however, and in many scenes it takes a softer look to it (especially the indoor shots). Overall, the video isn’t bad but it shows its budget here and there.

The audio is a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 track, and to be truthful it’s a bit of a disappointment. Although far from terrible, this track is not what one would expect when the words ‘high definition, lossless audio’ are spoken. However, a few issues could be in fault of the movies mellow soundtrack and the thick accents on some of the cast. But, truth be told, the dialogue just isn’t always audible, leaving me adjusting the volume on a number of occasions. The surround just didn’t do it for me either. Much like everything else I’ve made a negative comment on, the surround isn’t terrible but it just wasn’t high definition quality. To put it in one sentence, the audio isn’t going to make anybody angry but it sure isn’t going to make anybody extremely happy either.
Rating: 7/10 (video 7/10, audio 6/10)

The Extras:
The extras are slim-pickins! Is Anybody There? only has two special features and neither one is anything great. The first, is the included trailers for other Magnolia releases which in reality isn't a feature for the movie. The other is a collection of deleted scenes. Not much for the fans of the movie, maybe there's another edition down the road or something.
Rating: 2/10

Overall:
Maybe not the best movie ever, or the best Blu-ray ever but it is an inspiring movie filled with some top-notch acting. The movie itself is different and displays Michael Caine at his finest; the Blu-ray is average and displays some upgraded video and audio. With a small amount of extras, one might be inclined to rent this before purchasing.
Rating: 6/10

Note: This was a joint effort review by Iggy and Erin Michniacki. Erin Michniacki wrote the Movie Itself Portion while Iggy Michniacki handled the technical aspects.