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If you read my recent review of Chain of Fools, you already know that I'm a self-confessed . . . well, I have a thing for Salma Hayek. I didn't get enough of her in that film, but I found After The Sunset quite satisfying. But you don't want to know about my fantasy life; you want to know about After the Sunset and its DVD.
Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) is a master thief not unlike Brosnan's Thomas Crown of The Thomas Crown Affair. Max is a jewel thief. Thomas is an art thief. Max has never been caught. Thomas has never been caught. Both are staggeringly wealthy from the spoils of their exploits. And since both no longer need the cash, they continue because they seem to be addicted to the thrill of the heist. But that's where the similarity ends.
Thomas worked alone, but Max has a partner, his lover, Lola Cirillo (Salma Hayek). Together they pull off audacious thefts, not only right under the noses of the authorities, but from the authorities. The film opens with a caper in which the second of the three Napoleon Diamonds is stolen from a caravan of bullet-proofed SUVs populated with FBI agents, not the least of which is Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson).
Stan and Max go way back. And it's a love/hate relationship. Max seems to enjoy making a fool of Stan, and as you'd expect, this theft is no different. Well, maybe a little different. It seems that with the fencing of the second Napoleon Diamond, Max and Lola finally have decided that they have enough funds to retire. So as Stan does a slow burn, Max and Lola retreat to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. They buy a wonderful oceanfront home, deposit their funds in a bank that ensures more privacy than the Swiss, and settle down to island life. Paradise in every sense of the word.
Lola fits right in. She parasails, takes tennis lessons, snorkels, learns how to SCUBA, and spends some serious quality time in Max's bed. But Max is troubled. No hobbies. No interests. Rapidly becoming bored. Even the delicious Lola can't seem to pull him out of a funk. He's having withdrawal symptoms; his addiction has him longing for the adrenaline rush of the dangerous caper. He struggles for months, and then a temptation falls in his lap.
Stan appears to announce that a vast cruise ship anchored within line of sight of Max and Lola's home is exhibiting the third and last Napoleon Diamond. And with a smirk and few choice words, Stan has thrown down the gauntlet. Take the diamond; go ahead. I'll nail your ass. And how does Max react? He puts Stan up in the best suite of the Atlantis Resort, throws in a few spa treatments, and sends up two attractive hookers. (A product placement aside: the film is a running commercial for the Atlantis Resort, which looks fabulous, by the way. I wonder where the cast and crew stayed during the Bahamian location shoot?)
Add a pretentious, pathological gangster, Henri Moore (Don Cheadle), who also has an interest in the jewel, and an attractive, local police officer named Sophie (Naomie Harris), and we have an interesting mix. What follows is a delightful blend of comedy, drama, caper, and love story that involves and amuses. Stan and Max have one of the most unique codependent relationships filmed. They blur the line between enemy and friend with wit and style. And Max and Lola's relationship is truly challenged by his seeming inability to pass up that valuable prize.
Brosnan is terrific as the master thief, essentially reprising his Thomas Crown, but with more vulnerability, more internal turmoil. Salma Hayek is charming and beautiful, all cleavage and skin; her physical presence is almost a distraction, masking her fine performance. Woody Harrelson is a delightful foe, hiding depths and cunning that makes him a worthy adversary. Eye candy and plot candy, tongue in cheek fun.
But I would be remiss if I didn't object to some serious filmmaking laziness. Coincidence is not a great plot device, but we have it here. The illogic of the first heist, and for that matter, to a certain extent the last heist, neither of which I can describe without revealing more than I should, took me out of the film. Clever? Yes. Witty? Yes. Sexy? Yes. Ratner and company came close to perfection. I wish they had made an effort to keep the viewer in the film by avoiding glaring distractions. That aside, I enjoyed the After The Sunset on several levels, and I think you will, too.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Laser Pacific performed the compression work for this release and the results are pretty nice. For the most part, the transfer is quite sharp and detailed. Small object detail is very good and fine textures are preserved. Color accuracy is excellent, with great looking skin tones, particularly in the sun. Shadow detail is also quite nice, with a little bit of high contrast thrown in to a few scenes for atmosphere. My only real complaint is that modest edge halos are visible, but they're not terribly intrusive. I didn't notice any macroblocking or mosquito noise. The film contains lovely footage of Paradise Island, and even though many of the skies were digitally enhanced, the results are just beautiful.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is terrific, and if you visit the Set Up Options screen before you begin to watch, you'll discover that there is a warning that no equalization is required; this is another fine track by Mi Casa Multimedia. So if you have it, don't forget to disable THX Re-equalization. Do, however, enable EX decoding. The surround effects in this film are wonderful, fully immersive, from the cheering crowd at a basketball game to a colorful parade on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Deep bass is present, most obvious in the grumbling engine of Max's retro muscle car. Sound effects have great dynamic range. Voices have a fine sense of presence; dialog remains distortion-free throughout. The whole soundtrack has a pleasant transparency that sets it apart.
There is an optional Dolby Surround 2.0 track, also in English. Optional subtitles are in Spanish and English, for which Closed Captions are also included.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
We begin with a generous selection of fifteen anamorphic video deleted or alternate scenes that may be viewed with and without commentary by director Brett Ratner, producer Beau Flynn, and editor Mark Helfrich. They may be played either individually or sequentially with a "play all" option. The aggregate runtime is 16:48. Taken out of context, each is delightful, but the filmmakers make a good case for the deletions. And as cheesy as the alternate closing scene may be, I think I prefer it to the repeated silliness found earlier in the film.
The blooper reel (4:51) is one of my favorite types of supplements, and watching everyone crack up with the giggles is definitely contagious. Enjoy.
Director Brett Ratner, suffering with a bit of laryngitis, producer Beau Flynn, and editor Mark Helfrich are heard in a feature-length commentary. This is a good session, informative, funny, anecdotal, and technical. They avoid fluff and don't dwell on character motivation. We learn about locations, editing, and re-shoots. There is much admiration of Salma Hayek, both her performance and her physical charms. We learn about Harrelson's . . . quirks. On the minus side, Ratner does tend to admire his work a bit much. On balance, I enjoyed the track.
There is a truly entertaining and informative full-screen documentary called Before, During, and After The Sunset (1:10:19). It opens with excerpts from an appearance on Charlie Rose of Brett Ratner, Salma Hayek, Pierce Brosnan, and Woody Harrelson. From there we are guided through pre-production, the shoot, postproduction, and beyond. Lots of behind the scenes footage, and much of it very candid. This is a documentary with an edge. The complete Charlie Rose sequence (18:25) is next and everyone is suitably charming. Watch it.
Next is Interview With a Jewel Thief (8:09) in which Bill Mason, ex-thief turned author (Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief) has a chat with director Brett Ratner. It's a somewhat interesting interview that drives home one of the central tenets of the film, that thievery and the adrenaline rush associated with risk can be addictive. And addictions can be self-destructive.
Visual Effects Comparisons (3:18) is narrated by editor Mark Helfrich. This is a short but wonderfully revealing demonstration of how subtle and highly sophisticated technical manipulations were used to enhance this film. Fascinating.
The theatrical trailer (2:30) is presented in anamorphic video. The non-anamorphic TV spots run 1:02. Finally, More From New Line (2:49) previews: Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda (back on the big screen after an absence of fifteen years) square off in the comedy Monster-in-Law; and a second comedy in which two players on the prowl, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, are Wedding Crashers.
The 98-minute feature film is organized into twenty-one chapters.
Easter Eggs
There's nothing special; the usual New Line credits screens when you select the New Line logo from the main menu.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
After the New Line skin loads atop your InterActual player (or you start your InterActual-enabled version of WinDVD), you'll have a variety of choices. First is the now familiar script-to-screen feature that allows you to follow the printed word as the film spools. Various printing option are offered. This is still the best such feature available on DVD today and a great learning tool for the budding screenwriter.
The image gallery contains dozens of stills from the production in the form of continuity shots, possibly costume tests, and publicity photos.
There are several weblinks to: the After The Sunset home page, which has additional stills and clips; the New Line Cinema home page; and, Hot Spot, which gives you a choice of New Line's online store or, once again, the New Line Cinema home page, or Hot Spot, a special New Line news page.
Final Thoughts
Suspend your disbelief and be transported to Paradise. Smile-inducing, touching, tense, and droll, this is a very enjoyable bit of fluff. A very good transfer, an exceptional audio mix, and a surprisingly generous array of supplements make this an easy recommendation.
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