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Chronic is so-called as David (Tim Roth) is a carer who visits people with chronic health conditions – some dying – giving them assistance, even to the point of washing them because they can’t do it for themselves. This extends to doing this for women, despite him being male.
I take my hat off to carers like this, but in David’s case, I wasn’t sure whether he was utterly unmoved by the task in hand, or whether he had some sort of agenda as it was difficult to work out what his deal was, especially with him pulling extra shifts without permission and sending other carers away. An example of his strange behaviour came when he pretended to a couple in a bar that one of his patients is his wife. Overall, I got the feeling that there’s definitely something not right about him.
I was waiting for a pay-off that didn’t come, as you learn some bits about David and his life as the film progresses – none of those things getting spoiled here – but there’s not a huge amount going on, and it’s not a massively necessary journey to take.
The scenes are mostly shot with a fixed camera – sometimes with a character just off-camera, but it’s not done in an extensive way such as the 10-15-minute scenes in Stations Of The Cross.
It also lifts some ideas and element from the brilliant Still Life, including…
The film is presented in the original 2.35:1 theatrical anamorphic widescreen ratio and looks as good as a DVD can do. The film hasn’t been released on Blu-ray, so a DVD is as good as it’ll get. As usual, the DVD looks a little soft compared to the clarity a Blu-ray could provide, but other than that, there are no issues.
The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1, but there’s precious little in the rears other than occasional ambience. In fact, I could only recall a scene where one man was speaking from the back of the room and so his voice came out of the rear-right speaker.
There’s something weird up with the sound. I’m not sure if this is because it’s a fault on the review copy or just how the film is, but I’d bet the latter. While dialogue is okay, any sound effects, as tasks are carried out, for example, or even just as David wrings out a cloth full of water, is very echoey. I can’t believe this was deliberate, and when watching the first scene with patient John using his computer on the Jonathan Ross Show, I don’t remember any audio problems then.
The only extra is a trailer (1:27).
The main menu features a piece of music, just a segment of a most bizarre piece by DCguttiAC called “Don Rourke“. It’s an 8-minute track and another short segment of it is used as the menu background for the release of Trapped Season 1.
Chronic is out now DVD, and click on the packshot for the full-size image.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
5 8 2 1 |
| OVERALL | 4 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 90 minutes
Studio: Curzon Artificial Eye
Cat.no.: ART782DVD
Year: 2015
Released: April 11th 2016
Chapters: 12
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Format: 1.85:1
Disc Format: DVD9
Director: Michel Franco
Producers: Michel Franco, Gina Kwon, Gabriel Ripstein and Moisés Zonana
Screenplay: Michel Franco
Music: Yves Cape
Cast:
David: Tim Roth
Sarah: Rachel Pickup
John: Michael Cristofer
Marta: Robin Bartlett
Lidia: Bitsie Tulloch
Bernard: David Dastmalchian
Sarah’s Niece: Maribeth Monroe
Sarah’s Sister: Kari Coleman
Greg: Tate Ellington
Alice: Claire van der Boom
Nadia: Sarah Sutherland
Issac Sr.: Joe Santos
Margaret: Laura Niemi
Laura: Nailea Norvind
Gym Attendant: Tom Berklund
Sarah’s Little Niece #1: Cleo Fraser
Sylvia: Angela Bullock
Sarah’s Sister’s Husband: Peter Gray Lewis
Isaac’s Receptionist: Sarah Randall Hunt
Issac Jr.: Ben Berkowitz
Robert: Christopher McCann
Fred: Harris Shore
2nd Agency Woman: Reatha Grey
Nurse Practitioner: LynNita Ellis
Sarah’s Night Nurse: Ariella Fiore
Lee: Lee Harmon
John’s Niece: Tami Renae Lawless
Herself: Subi Oh Nyne
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.