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Released by: Blue Underground
Released on: January 27th, 2015.
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. Because of this 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 begins 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. She's also trying to reconcile whether or not 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. The scene that takes place in the kinky nightclub setting features some remarkably striking compositions and great lighting. The movie definitely fires on all cylinders when it comes to mood and atmosphere and the visuals are top notch.
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. Going Under's script, co-written by director Werthman and Jessica Gohlke, does do a fairly effective job of fleshing out Peter and Suzanne. Because of this they're more than just a couple of quirky perverts. Instead of simply gawking at them we're able to understand why they enjoy the lifestyle they choose. The story also does a good job of explaining 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 and as a character study, it's genuinely interesting. it's just a shame that the narrative itself leaves a little to be desired.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The transfer on this disc is framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Video quality is strong here, with detail easily surpassing the previous DVD release that Blue Underground put out years back. Colors are more natural looking and better defined while black levels benefit as well, looking nice and deep. There aren't any obvious compression artifacts or edge enhancement problems while texture and depth are consistently pleasing. The image is crisp and clean throughout - this is quite a nice transfer.
Audio options are offered for the film in English only in your choice of DTS-HD 5.1 or DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo Master Audio tracks with removable subtitles provided again in English only. The 5.1 track spreads out the score and some foley effects a bit more interestingly than the 2.0 mix does but both tracks feature similar qualities. Range is solid, levels are balanced, dialogue is easy to follow and there aren't any problems with hiss or distortion. Again, there's some noticeable improvement here over the DVD release.
Director Eric Wertham and male lead Roger Rees starts off the supplements (which replicate those found on the DVD and which are all in standard definition) with a commentary track. This is a fairly active track that does a good job of allowing the director to explain his intentions for the film. The pair covers casting, location shooting, wardrobe, authenticity issues and some of the more extreme content in an intelligent and non-pretentious manner. As such the commentary turns 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. This featurette also shows 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 subject matter.
Rounding out the supplements are a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer, animated menus and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
While the film has some its shortcomings, it is well acted, well shot and reasonably interesting. Blue Underground has done a fine job upgrading the film to Blu0ray and this release offers up a nice selection of supplements to compliment the fine transfer. 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.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
