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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Levity
(Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment)
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| DVD
Release Date:
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August
26, 2003
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Length:
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106 mins.
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| Rated:
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R
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.835:1)
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Audio:
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English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby
Digital 5.1
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| Subtitles:
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English, French, Closed-Captioned
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| Extras:
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Director,
Producer and Editor Commentary, Featurette, Bonus Trailers
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Manual Jordan (Billy Bob Thornton) is a
convicted murderer who has just been released from prison after
serving 22 years for murdering a convenience store clerk during an
attempted robbery. After being in the wrong place at the right time
(or, depending on which way you look at it, the right place at the
wrong time), Manual finds himself working at an inner-city community center
that is run by the mysterious preacher, Miles Evans (Morgan Freeman).
It is at this community center that he encounters a troubled teen
(Kirsten Dunst) who is constantly wasted beyond comprehension. But
feeling that, after 22 years in prison, he has not served enough time
for what he did, Manual seeks out the sister (Holly Hunter) of the boy
he murdered, looking for the forgiveness that he so desperately
craves. Sleeping with her without telling her who you really are might
not be the proper thing to do, don't ya think?
Levity is a dreary movie. The characters are dreary. The settings are
dreary. The weather is dreary. Billy Bob's hair is dreary. Everything
is dreary. I was lucky enough to watch this movie on DVD in the
comforts of my own home, which sometimes can make these dreary (and
slow-moving, I might add) movies not so painful to watch. But just
because Levity was a dreary and slow-moving, that does not mean it was
a bad movie. Any movie that features Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan
Freeman, Holly Hunter and I suppose, Kirsten Dunst will have some
redeeming qualities. The acting in the movie and the chemistry between
the actors was nothing short of outstanding. Although, now that I
think of it, only Billy Bob interacted with the other actors and
actresses - there were no scenes with Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst or
Holly Hunter with each other. Strange, but true. But the story itself,
well, it didn't really have a point, something that director and
writer Ed Solomon himself points out in the commentary. There are no
lessons to be learned, no hidden meanings, no life-altering moments in
this film. It basically covers a week or so period in the dreary life
of a convicted murder and his attempts at redemption. As Morgan
Freeman said, we get to "spend a moment" with the
characters. That is all this movie is, it's a moment. Levity is not a
movie for everyone. There will be some people who appreciate the
acting and the story, and others who would rather watch paint dry than
watch this movie. Myself, well, like I said, I was able to watch it at
home with my own pacing, so I did not mind the movie that much.
As for the extras, there is a 15-minute featurette entitled "On
the Set". It includes interviews with, among others, Ed Solomon,
Billy Bob, Kirsten Dunst, Morgan Freeman and Holly Hunter. In this
featurette, Solomon himself admits that there is no moral or lesson to
be taken from his movie. That is okay. Not every movie needs to give
us a lesson in life. But the fact that it took him twenty years to
write the script, well, that is a bit confusing. There are also a few
trailers, one for Levity, one for Laurel Canyon and one for Man
Without a Past.
The commentary for Levity might be the best part of the whole DVD. In
the commentary track, we get to hear from Ed Solomon (again), producer
Adam Merims and editor Pietro Scalia. They quietly talk about
everything. The making of the movie, the financing, the casting, the
extras, the lighting, the editing, the meaning of different scenes.
They talk and talk, and it is very interesting. I was surprised at how
difficult it was for Solomon to get financing for this film. He says
he had to put his house up as collateral and many shortcuts were taken
because of the film's tight budget. They only had $7.5 million to make
this film. Yes, this is more than me and you will ever see in our
lifetimes, but you figure that Billy Bob blows a fart and gets paid
nearly half of that. And to get that $7.5 million, it sounds like he
(Ed Solomon, that is) had to practically beg. But he still managed to
assemble a more or less all-star cast and got it done. And some of the
scenes that you see that seem so dreary, were not actually meant to be
so. They could not afford the proper lighting. Funny, yet surprising.
Nevertheless, the commentary is one of the best I have heard to date.
With that being said, I have only watched a few DVD's where I actually
listened to the commentary, but this one ranks right up there for the
few that I have listened to. Another interesting note - at one point,
the film needed extras so they drove around in a van and asked people
if they were interested in appearing in their film. Why the hell can't
that happen to me!! Is that not every film buff's dream??
Anyways, I will conclude by saying that Levity is not a movie for
everyone. Yes, I know I already said it, but I am saying it again, in
case you forgot. It is a slow movie, but if you watch it at home, and
you are a fan of any of the featured actors or actresses, or if you
are from Montreal and you want to watch a film that was made in your
snowy city, then you might just like this movie. I am luke-warm on it
but I do appreciate the hard work that seemingly went into this movie.
| The Movie: |
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6/10 |
| The
Extras: |
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6/10 |
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Levity
Brendan Cullin - Senior
Editor
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