One & Two

Released By: Shout! Factory
Released On: December 8, 2015.
Director: Andrew Droz Palermo
Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Timothee Chalamet, Elizabeth Reaser
Year: 2015

The Movie:

When we spend any amount of time with characters, whether it be 90 minutes of film, or a few solid nights of reading a book, we expect some kind of association with those characters; to follow their story arcs as they develop and either empathize with or loathe them. A well thought-out character in film, especially coupled with a good actor, can be a blessing that makes a good film better, while a character lacking in dimension can leave the viewer cold, regardless of who portrays them.

A hard-working, hard-praying family spends their days doing chores on a farm that for some reason, is surrounded by a massive wall. Early to bed and early to rise seems to be the mantra of Daniel (Grant Bowler), though his wife Elizabeth (Elizabeth Reaser) seems a little more laid back and easy-going. Their children, Zac (Timothée Chalamet) and Eva (Kiernan Shipka) dutifully follow the orders of their father, but spend their leisure time in a rather unconventional way, being that they're both able to teleport their bodies short distances...even through solid walls. Though most parents would probably be amazed by these abilities, if not slightly irked that their kids were blasting themselves out of their bedrooms to roam the fields at night, Daniel takes serious issue with their shenanigans.

As he is a man of God, Daniel finds it confounding that the good Lord won't send him a sign that his children's abilities are His Will, or the doings of darker forces. He is further troubled that each teleportation seems to coincide with his wife having a seizure. When Elizabeth suffers a severe fit after the kids disobey Daniel's orders to stay in their rooms, he reacts by nailing their clothes to their bedroom walls...with the kids still in them...and leaving them overnight. All but broken by the punishment, Zac decides to follow his father's order to the letter, but his sister is defiant. Her last teleportation coincidentally occurs shortly before her mother suffers a fatal seizure, and Daniel's violent reaction finds her banished from the farm, beaten and set adrift up the river. With her family all that she has ever known, Eva is beset upon by the fears of the outside world with only her supernatural ability to protect her.

Characters. Our relationship with them is integral to having a good relationship with a film. Unfortunately, there's nothing to be found her in the way of character. Instead of taking advantage of such a minimal number of players and building incredibly on them, co-writer and Director Andrew Droz Palermo has given us a group of people that are more like initial character ideas, conceived with the promise of development with no follow-through. We don't care that Daniel is torn between his God, his love for his wife, and his fear of Zac and Eva's abilities. We don't care that Elizabeth could be dying. We don't care about the kids. Why would we? We're given no insight into why they exist, the thoughts behind their actions. The people that Eva meets in the real world are equally as vapid, with the most thrilling moment in the film coming in the form of a wicked haymaker during a teenaged girl fight.

The actions of the characters, the holes in the story, are equally as time-wasting. The family lives on a farm with a giant wall built around it. Eva's narration tells us that her father believes it keeps people out; "but maybe it keeps people in." What? You can TELEPORT THROUGH WALLS. When he believes that she's killed her mother, Daniel throws Eva into a boat and sends her up river? Why? Your DAUGHTER CAN TELEPORT WHERE SHE WANTS. The actions of the characters might be forgiven, the holes in the plot might be overlooked, if we were along for the ride with the players. We're not. If character development isn't a point of concern for the film makers, we can only be left with the idea that One & Two is meant to be a stylistic statement...and that at least makes sense. Attention is clearly focused on framing, on capturing semi-still images that are left to linger on screen to inspire some kind of emotion, signified by the slow and steady build of the score, culminating in....nothing at all. Repeat. The shot-on-digital-video look doesn't help the aesthetic, either, muddying up the darker scenes. Of which there are plenty. Halfway through the film, the viewer starts to worry if this is all that there is to the film. And it is. Lingering shot. Score builds. Score peaks. Nothing. Repeat.

Minimalism can be a beautiful thing. Or, it can be an hour and a half of nothing. And that's One & Two. An hour and a half.

Of nothing.

Repeat.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Shout! Factory brings One & Two to Blu-ray in a 2.40:1 AVC-encoded transfer that looks okay, with the majority of the darker scenes....well, it's pretty much all dark...maintaining as much definition and clarity as possible. The limited colour palette is represented about as well as it can be and conveys what I imagine would've been the aesthetic intended by the film makers.

There are two audio tracks provided for the film, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The 5.1 track is more than competent, with the minimal amount of dialogue in the film front and centre. Surrounds are used minimally for more subtle atmospheric sounds, and don't expect the subwoofer to do much in this one. The track is free of audio issues.

English subtitles are provided.

A Trailer for the film is the loan extra found on the disc, unless you count the accompanying DVD of the film.

The Final Word:

All style and no substance is the lesson of the day with One & Two, which was one of the more boring and pointless films I've had the displeasure of sitting through. Though barebones, the Blu-ray presentation is a nice way of seeing it for fans of the film.

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