Apr 272016
 

Tumbledown is one of the nice surprises of 2016 showcasing great performances from its two leads, Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis, and while it’s not the most challenging films, I appreciated the understated tone as any movie dealing with death and grief can become overly dramatic.

 

 

Tumbledown
(2016)


REVIEW NAVIGATION

The Movie
| Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Romance
Anchor Bay | R – 103 min. – $26.99 | April 5, 2016

Date Published: 04/27/2016 | Author: The Movieman


MOVIE INFO:
Directed by:
Sean Mewshaw
Writer(s): Desi Van Til & Sean Mewshaw (story), Desi Van Til (screenplay)
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Dianna Agron, Blythe Danner, Joe Manganiello
DISC INFO:
Features:
Featurettes
Digital Copy: No
Formats Included: Blu-ray
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 20.3 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A


THE MOVIE – 3.75/5

Plot Synopsis: Pop culture scholar Andrew (JASON SUDEIKIS) comes to Maine to interview Hannah (REBECCA HALL), the protective widow of an acclaimed singer. When the unlikely pair strike a deal to co-write a biography, Andrew finds himself clashing with a cast of locals, including Hannah’s hunky suitor (JOE MANGANIELLO), and her loving but defensive parents (BLYTHE DANNER, RICHARD MAZAR). When Hannah and Andrew’s stormy partnership blossoms into an unexpected connection, they face the possibility that the next chapter in their lives may involve each other.

Quick Hit Review: Tumbledown is the kind of movie that makes me thankful to have the job (well, hobby) that I do where I normally either would’ve passed by this movie or, worse yet, never even had heard of it as it barely had a theatrical release (though did collect $135k on a max of 50 screens).

What was so enjoyable was that it’s a refreshingly simple story focusing more on characters than convoluted conflict, and stars Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis work so well off one another with Hall proving once more to be a fantastic actress while Sudeikis shows off his charm to go along with his comedic timing. The supporting cast is also well done from Blythe Danner’s brief appearance to the underrated character actor, Griffin Dunne whom I’ve seen on a variety of television shows including playing two different characters on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, and it’s nice to see him playing a good guy for a change.

Tumbledown was co-written, with wife Desi Van Til, and directed by Sean Mewshaw and the pair make such a wonderful and satisfying little romantic-dramedy that I hope will find an audience on home video. It was hard for me not to smile by film’s end.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5

Unfortunately features are a tad light with only two featurettes: The Making of Tumbledown (22:41; HD) and The Music Behind Tumbledown (2:48; HD), both with behind-the-scenes footage and comments from members of the cast and crew as they discuss the characters and music.

 


VIDEO – 3.5/5

Anchor Bay releases Tumbledown onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The video is a bit off, looking a tad soft in some spots though detail at least is decent enough and colors look bright and cheerful throughout. There were no obvious signs of artifacting, aliasing or other flaws.

 

AUDIO – 4.0/5

The disc comes with a respectable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that offers crisp and clean dialogue levels but the track especially comes to life with the score, and especially, the soundtrack with its catchy pop-folk tunes. It’s nothing outstanding, though good enough for the genre, yet still provides a fine home theater experience.

 



OVERALL – 3.5/5

Overall, Tumbledown is one of the nice surprises of 2016 showcasing great performances from its two leads, Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis, and while it’s not the most challenging films, I appreciated the understated tone as any movie dealing with death and grief can become overly dramatic. The Blu-ray released through Anchor Bay has OK video, nice audio but two rather forgettable featurettes, though the making-of was more in-depth than I expected.

 

 

 

 

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

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