Tanner Hall is the type of movie that won’t be remembered for its story, screenplay or story but for the cast. Rooney Mara, Brie Larson and Amy Ferguson all give good performances however Georgia King shines above the rest. With regards to the Blu-ray, it boasts an excellent looking video and a fine audio transfer; the features, though, don’t measure up to much.
Tanner Hall (2009)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama
Anchor Bay | R – 95 min. – $29.99 | December 13, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Francisca Gregorini & Tatiana von Furstenberg
Writer(s): Francisca Gregorini & Tatiana von Furstenberg (written by)
Cast: Rooney Mara, George King, Brie Larson, Amy Ferguson, Shawn Pyerom, Amy Sedaris, Chris Kattan, Tom Everett Scott
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 22.1 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 2.5/5
Plot: As Fernanda (ROONEY MARA) enters her senior year at the sheltered New England boarding school Tanner Hall, she’s faced with unexpected changes in her group of friends. When Victoria (GEORGIA KING), a manipulative troublemaker from her childhood shows up for the fall semester she immediately begins to win over Fernanda’s friends: adventurous and sexy Kate (BRIE LARSON), and tomboy Lucasta (AMY FERGUSON), while causing tension between all the girls.
Escaping from the drama at school, Fernanda begins a complicated friendship with an older family friend Gio (TOM EVERETT SCOTT). Jealous of Fernanda’s exciting and dangerous relationship, Victoria plots to sabotage her plans and publicly humiliate her. Meanwhile, Lucasta struggles with newfound feelings towards another classmate, and Kate is too preoccupied with making her teachers nervous to pay attention to her classes. Flirting with adulthood, each girl realizes they need each other to get through their first grown-up decisions… and the consequences they bring.
Tanner Hall features a strong cast of young and rising actresses including Rooney Mara who has gained attention due to her role as Lisbeth in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo adaptation. While she does give a nice performance here, I thought British actress Georgia King absolute shines showing strength and eventually vulnerability in an even manner. The other cast members also turn in fine performances from Brie Larson and Amy Ferguson. The film also features a good supporting cast that include small roles by Chris Kattan as a teacher obsessed with Kate, Amy Sedaris as his wife and Tom Everett Scott as the older man taking advantage of teenage, love-struck Fernanda.
While the performances are good, the screenplay unfortunately doesn’t quite make the grade. The characters are well written but the storylines seem to come from an episode of some CW television series rather than a major motion picture with a more complicated plotline. The direction, by Francisca Gregorini & Tatiana von Furstenberg (debuts for both), is well done enough to at least make Tanner Hall a tolerable film and if nothing else, one can admire the performances.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5
The only features on this disc are an audio commentary with Co-Writers/Co-Directors Francisca Gregorini & Tatiana von Furstenberg and the theatrical trailer (2:20; HD).
Previews – Daydream Nation, Happythankyoumoreplease
VIDEO – 4.75/5
Tanner Hall is presented in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The video actually looks nothing short of amazing with a fine layer of natural film grain but not too much that it takes away from the detail levels which consistently look great throughout. The color array, as determined by director of photographer Brian Rigney Hubbard, is warm and has an almost nostalgic-like vibe to it. Needless to say, I was impressed with this transfer especially for what probably was on an indie budget.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track isn’t especially impressive yet it’s more than serviceable since dialogue levels come out of the center channel clearly with ambient noises making use of the front and rear channels. On occasion you could get a sense for the depth whenever the score or music picks up.
OVERALL – 2.75/5
Overall, Tanner Hall is the type of movie that won’t be remembered for its story, screenplay or story but for the cast. Rooney Mara, Brie Larson and Amy Ferguson all give good performances however Georgia King shines above the rest. With regards to the Blu-ray, it boasts an excellent looking video and a fine audio transfer; the features, though, don’t measure up to much.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 12/10/2011
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2.