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The Truth About Emanuel

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    John Gargo
    Senior Member

  • The Truth About Emanuel



    Released by: Well Go USA
    Released on: March 25th, 2014.
    Director: Francesca Gregorini
    Cast: Jessica Biel, Kaya Scodelario, Aneurin Barnard
    Year: 2013
    Purchase From Amazon


    The Movie:


    There is a startling plot development that occurs roughly half an hour into The Truth About Emanuel that is a veritable game-changer. It's a legitimately shocking and unexpected moment and it would do a disservice to the film to reveal it in a review. The filmmakers themselves seem aware of how important this is, as a brief perusal of the cover synopsis or a viewing of the movie's elliptical trailer will show how they shrewdly avoid revealing the aforementioned “twist.” It almost goes without saying that any discussion of a film of this nature will necessarily offer an incomplete portrait of the film.

    Emanuel (Kaya Scodelario) is teenage girl with emotional issues that stem from the fact that her mother died during childbirth. Emanuel feels hopelessly guilty and believes that by being born she has effectively “murdered” her mother. This early loss haunts her to the point that she becomes particularly confrontational around her birthday, which is fast approaching. Her father Dennis (the great Alfred Molina, somewhat squandered in a bit part) and in particular her new stepmother Janice (an equally excellent Frances O'Connor) are often the targets of this passive-aggressive behavior. There is also the suggestion that Emanuel may be psychologically unstable, as she sometimes hallucinates the presence of running water (perhaps itself a reference to childbirth?).

    The entrance of two individuals in Emanuel's life serve to complicate this situation. The first is Claude (Aneurin Barnard), a young boy who Emanuel sees on the morning train to work. The two teens share a similarly mischievous sensibility and a romance quickly blossoms. The second individual is Linda (Jessica Biel), a single mother who moves in to the house next door. Over dinner one night, Janice casually mentions that Linda is looking for a sitter for her young baby and Emanuel surprises her parents by spontaneously offering to do it herself. After all, she tells them with a shrug, she needs the money.

    That's the set-up of Writer/Director Francesca Gregorini's film. It must be said that The Truth About Emanuel has a lot of things going for it. Gregorini creates genuine intrigue in the opening sections of her film, keeping the viewer slightly disoriented. The actors give committed and excellent performances; for one thing, Jessica Biel in proves that she can act when she's given a halfway decent role to play. As the titular character, Kaya Scodelario is the standout; she greatly impressed me in Andrea Arnold's radical adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2011) and she's just as good in modern dress as she was in period trappings. For all its narrative slight-of-hand, Gregorini's film is essentially a character study of the Emanuel character and how she responds to an unusual situation, one that has particular resonance when compared to the character's past. It's a choice role that demands a sensitive performance and Scodelario more than delivers.

    That being said, the film has some problems. While the film has a genuinely shocking twist, right out of a horror film in fact, the real testament to its worth is whether or not it sustains interest after this second act reveal. While Gregorini is able to generate some suspense in the second half of her film, the narrative suffers from some heavy-handed symbolism. There's also a strange lesbian subtext that feels shoe-horned into the narrative and remains undeveloped; it is all well and good for the filmmakers to explore homo-social tensions between their characters but Gregorini does nothing with it and it feels oddly superfluous. The conclusion also relies too heavily on psychoanalytic clichés; a tortured character must attain “closure” and this is achieved through a ritualistic set-piece. Viewers will easily recognize how the filmmakers have borrowed this climax from other (and better) movies, and the derivative nature of the film's final movement serves to undermine its emotional resonance.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    The Truth About Emanuel arrives on blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment. The film is presented in a 1080p transfer in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It looks fantastic, as is to be expected for a new release; black levels are excellent and there is plenty of detail throughout. There are no problems to speak of on the video front.

    The blu-ray offers two lossless audio options. The first is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers excellent sound. This is a mostly dialogue-heavy film and the rear-channel speakers are mostly utilized to subtly complement the musical track; as such, they only really get much louder and noticeable when the music does. There is also a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that sounds similarly good. There are no issues to report. The blu-ray disc offers English subtitles.

    Well Go USA Entertainment provide a series of featurettes that are of the promotional variety. A brief interview with Writer/Director Francesca Gregorini appears to be a piece for the Tribeca Film Festival and as it never discusses the film's “twist” it doesn't offer anything of substance. There are a couple of brief deleted scenes that were obviously trimmed because they add nothing to the narrative. Rounding out the disc are a series of blink-and-you'll-miss-them outtakes and a theatrical trailer.

    The Final Word:

    The Truth About Emanuel is a decent psychological thriller that may be worth your time if you have a penchant for the genre. Although it boats an intriguing set-up and twist, the film ultimately falters in its final act; it's a shame because the cast is game and delivers good performances. Interested parties are suggested to rent before they buy. Well Go USA Entertainment's blu-ray looks and sounds great but don't expect much in the way of informative supplements.

    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!




















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