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Released by: Blue Underground
Released on: June 26, 2007.
Director: Eric Wertham
Cast: Roger Rees, Geno Lechner
Year: 2004
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The Movie:
Peter (Roger Rees) is a middle aged married psychiatrist whose relationship with Suzanne (Geno Lechner), a dominatrix who uses the name Mistress Diana, is starting to become more than a strictly professional affair. The pair is obviously developing feelings for one another and as such, they decide to take things to the next level and enjoy one another's company outside of their regular slap and tickle sessions.
Soon after their relationship becomes more than a business agreement, Roger starts to get a little pushy and Suzanne soon starts to feel that he's wanting things to progress considerably faster than the more relaxed pace that she's comfortable with. Peter is soon starting to act and behave in an increasingly obsessed fashion and Suzanne begins to question if they'll be able to make this work at all and if she'll be able to fully relate to Peter as more than simply her slave and dominated client.
More of a relationship drama than a flat out exploitation film, Going Under is very well acted and nicely shot but ultimately rather dull. To the film's credit, both Rees and Lechner give very brave and believable performances - it isn't at all difficult to accept them in their roles and as such the picture is well cast. It also looks very good. The cinematography and camera work makes excellent use of the sets, shadows and lighting to bring a rather elegant style to the screen that certainly works in the movie's favor.
Unfortunately the storyline is fairly predictable and outside of the BDSM lifestyle setting, ultimately rather dull. What the film does well and where it excels is with its character development. It does do a fairly effective job of fleshing out Peter and Suzanne so that they're more than just a couple of quirky perverts, instead we're able to understand why they enjoy the lifestyle they choose and how their respective roles in the master-servant games they play are absolutely reflective of their personality and upbringing. We learn why Suzanne choices to dominate rather than submit and we understand why Peter wants her to hurt him and why he is able to get pleasure out of this. On that level alone the film is very strong, it's just a shame that the story itself leaves a little to be desired.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Going Under is presented in a nice 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. There's a bit of edge enhancement that is noticeable in a few scenes as well as some aliasing but aside from that things look pretty solid here. Black levels are strong, color reproduction and flesh tones look accurate and there aren't any issues with print damage or mpeg compression artifacts.
Blue Underground gives the choice of watching the film in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound or Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, both tracks in English. The surround mix does a good job of spreading things out in a few key scenes and as such, it's superior to the 2.0 track but both mixes are clean and clear and free of hiss or distortion. Levels are properly balanced and dialogue is always easy to follow and understand.
Director Eric Wertham and made lead Roger Rees starts off the supplements. This is a fairly active track that does a good job of allowing the director to explain his intentions for the film. They pair cover casting, location shooting, wardrobe, authenticity issues and some of the more extreme content in an intelligent and non-pretentious manner and as such the commentary winds up turning out to be quite interesting.
From there, check out a six-minute featurette entitled NYC Black & Blue that provides a brief glimpse into the realism of the fetish wardrobe pieces used in the feature before showing us actual footage from a BDSM/fetish group shindig happening in The Big Apple. Interesting stuff.
Blue Underground has also included a second featurette, Pushing The Boundaries, which, at seventeen minutes long, does a pretty solid job of filling us in on the film's origins and background. While it covers some of the same ground as the commentary it does include a few other cast members all of whom are quite blunt about their feelings on the film and its unsavory subject matter.
Rounding out the supplements are a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer, animated menus and chapter stops. For the DVD-Rom equipped, a nine-page essay from Marta Helliesen, which explains some of the psychology behind the film can also be found.
The Final Word:
While the film has some very obvious flaws and problems, it is well acted, well shot and reasonably interesting. Blue Underground has once again done a fine job on the presentation and this release is one of those rare cases where the supplements are more interesting than the feature itself. Going Under isn't a masterpiece but it's worth a look for those with an interest in psychological sexual thrillers and who don't mind a bit of kink thrown into the mix for good measure.