It’s The Rage

Dom Robinson reviews

It’s The Rage Distributed by

Columbia TriStar

• Cert:
• Cat.no: CDR 30984
• Running time: 95 minutes
• Year: 1999
• Pressing: 2001
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 28 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English, French
• Subtitles: 11 languages available
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 5
• Price: £19.99
• Extras: Trailer, Filmographies, Featurette, Director’s Commentary
  

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  Director:

  James D. Stern

Producer:

Peter Gilbert, James D. Stern, Ash R. Shah, Anne McCarthy and Mary Vernieu

Screenplay:

Keith Reddin

Music:

Mark Mothersbaugh

Cast:

Helen Harding: Joan Allen
Warren Harding: Jeff Daniels
Tyler: Robert Forster
Tim Sullivan: Andre Braugher
Agee: Bokeem Woodbine
Annabel Lee: Anna Paquin
Chris: David Schwimmer
Tennel: Josh Brolin
Norton Morgan: Gary Sinise
Sidney Lee: Giovanni Ribisi

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It’s the Rage to have a gun in the US in order to protect yourself, your loved ones and your home – or so that is the stance taken by those who find themselves in compromising positions when someone’s bought the farm and the person is standing over them with a smoking pistol in their hand.

What we have here is a combination piece featuring ten people whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways, which presents you with a film, the type of which promises much because there is no specific plot and, like Pulp Fiction it even features characters who just talk about the general banalities of life, which holds your interest if you’re into directionless soap operas.

As the film begins, housewife Helen Harding (Joan Allen is woken by gunshots coming from downstairs and finds her stressed-out businessman husband Warren (Jeff Daniels) standing over the body of a dead man in the living room, the identity of whom I shall not reveal but the consequences drive a wedge further between them as divorce looms. Cops Tyler (Robert Forster) and Agee (Bokeem Woodbine) become involved in the case as Warren’s solicitor, Tim Sullivan (Homicide: Life on the Streets‘ Andre Braugher) advises him of his prospects, before coming across street urchin Annabel Lee (Anna Paquin) in a convenience store.

Throw into the mix Sullivan’s gay partner Chris (Friends‘ David Schwimmer), Annabell’s schizophrenic brother Sidney (Giovanni Ribisi), the potentially deranged and absurdly eccentric computer genius Norton Morgan (Gary Sinise) and his secretary Tennel (Josh Brolin) and you’re left with a number of bizarre moments that don’t connect, but then they’re not really meant to, save for the gun aspect.

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The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio with only occasional artifacts on view and otherwise no complaints. The average bitrate is 4.61Mb/s, often peaking above 8Mb/s.

The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1, but never gets a chance to shine because it’s mostly dialogue-driven and doesn’t need to give your speakers a workout.

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As well as the film, the disc contains a 2-minute 1.85:1 non-anamorphic Trailer, Filmographies for the director and three cast members, a 13-minute Featurette containing interviews with members of the cast and crew and, finally, a feature length Audio Commentary track from the director and a number of cast members.

There are the usual 28 chapters and subtitles in 11 languages : English, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Hebrew, Hungarian, Bulgarian and French and the menus are silent and static.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.