PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Whole Truth, The (Blu-ray) (2016)

Whole Truth, The (Blu-ray) (2016)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 8-Mar-2017

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2016
Running Time 93:34
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Courtney Hunt
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Keanu Reeves
Renee Zellweger
Gabriel Basso
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jim Belushi
Jim Klock


Case ?
RPI ? Music Evgueni Galperine
Sascha Galperine


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     It was an open and shut case. Seventeen year old Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso) was found by police kneeling beside the body of his wealthy lawyer father Boone (Jim Belushi); his palm print was on the bloodied knife buried in his father’s chest and he confessed to police that he had done it. Lawyer and family friend of the Lassiter’s Richard Ramsey (Keanu Reeves) agrees to defend Mike, although his job is made more difficult because Mike refuses to talk to anyone, including Ramsey. When the trial commences Ramsey, assisted by Janelle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), will do almost anything to win and he believes that their only hope of sowing reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors is to attack the reputation of Boone by painting him as a womaniser and abusive towards his family. All this while Loretta (Renee Zellweger), his wife and mother of Mike, sits in the courtroom. As Prosecutor Leblanc (Jim Klock) opens his case and calls his first witnesses it becomes clear that not everyone is telling the whole truth.

     The Whole Truth is an entertaining and competent courtroom whodunit directed by Courtney Hunt. Nearly the entire film plays out in the courtroom with witnesses giving evidence and being cross-examined although the witnesses’ evidence is frequently juxtaposed with flashbacks to the events being described so becomes clear that the evidence does not strictly match the events; we see that some witnesses are filtering the truth for their own purposes, others engaging in out and out lying. The film sets itself up in the early sections almost within the Rashomon genre, with different participants telling different stories, but this is then discarded as the film becomes a whodunit, not about different recollections of events but about outright lies and deception.

     The Whole Truth is entertaining and flows along nicely. It has the required red herrings and the big twist at the end, although most will probably see it coming from about half way through. The cast is impressive, with Renee Zellweger and Gabriel Basso excellent while Jim Belushi does a good job in a dramatic role. Keanu Reeves is Keanu Reeves and is saddled with a superfluous voice over narration. He does not quite convince; it seems that Daniel Craig had been hired to play the role but pulled out four days before shooting commenced. I think he would have put something quite different, and potentially more interesting, onto the screen.

     The Whole Truth is enjoyable enough. There are twists but few surprises and nothing very new but a decent cast and the compact running time make for a watchable and entertaining 90 minutes.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

     The Whole Truth is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Within the courtroom the film has a muted, brown colour palate but with brighter and lighter flashbacks and recollections. Detail is strong, blacks and shadow detail are fine, brightness and contrast consistent, skin tones natural.

     Other than some aliasing on horizontal blinds, artefacts and marks were absent.

     English subtitles for the Hearing Impaired are available.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and an English descriptive audio is also provided (Dolby Digital 5.1).

     A courtroom drama does not require any aural gymnastics. Dialogue is clean and centred while the rears and surrounds were utilised for ambient voices, the score, and an atonal hum to build tension. The sub-woofer was mostly silent.

     The music by Evgueni & Sascha Galperine felt appropriate.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     There are no extras of any kind.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The Region A US release of The Whole Truth adds Spanish subtitles but is otherwise identical to our version.

Summary

     The Whole Truth is an entertaining courtroom mystery with twists and red herrings. In the end it feels rather like a TV episode of some crime show which needs to explain everything in full at the end. This is fair enough, but I cannot help but think that in a Rashomon type film, which this has some aspirations of being, a little bit left unclear is not such a bad thing.

     The video and audio are fine. No extras at all, just like the US release.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S580, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

Other Reviews NONE