Although I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and movie adaptations, for whatever reason The Casual Vacancy failed to strike a chord with me. I don’t know if it the adaptation work was lousy or what but outside of the likes of Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Julia McKenzie there wasn’t very much that grabbed my attention.
The Casual Vacancy
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Warner Home Video | NR – 183 min. – $29.97 | August 4, 2015
 |
MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Jonny Campbell Writer(s): J.K. Rowling (novel); Sarah Phelps (written by) Cast: Emily Bevan, Silas Carson, Monica Dolan, Michael Gambon, Richard Glover, Joe Hurst, Rufus Jones, Rory Kinnear, Abigail Lawrie, Julia McKenzie DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase The Casual Vacancy on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
The Casual Vacancy centers on Pagford, a seemingly idyllic English village with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey. Behind the pretty façade, however, is a town at war: the rich at war with the poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils. Pagford is now what it first seems.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
This release comes with a side-sliding matted slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.
Features-wise we get a few featurettes:
An Introduction to The Casual Vacancy (8:33; HD) – An overview of the series, including a brief introduction to the main characters, plot and locations.
Adapting The Casual Vacancy (9:49; HD) – How the book was brought to the screen as the production team reveals its vision.
Casting The Casual Vacancy (13:31; HD) – An in-depth featurette highlighting the ensemble cast.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
The Casual Vacancy checks in onto Blu-ray presented in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part this is a perfectly serviceable and eye-pleasing transfer with excellent colors and good detail levels throughout. There didn’t appear to be any major instances of aliasing or artifacts while darkly lit shots are nice and stark.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The series includes a decent if not basic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The bulk of the audio is relegated to the center channel with the front and rears getting minor workouts whenever the score would chime in or the occasional ambient noises, otherwise it almost is like a mono track.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, although I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and movie adaptations, for whatever reason The Casual Vacancy failed to strike a chord with me. I don’t know if it the adaptation work was lousy or what but outside of the likes of Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Julia McKenzie there wasn’t very much that grabbed my attention. The Blu-ray released by Warner offers good video/audio transfers and a so-so selection of bonus material.
Published: 08/12/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.