DVD Corner

In A World… Blu-ray Review

“In A World…” is a meandering film.

In her directorial debut (in the feature length film world), actress/writer Lake Bell has crafted a story about a struggling voice coach (Carol) who lives in her father’s shadow. You see, Carol’s father (Sam) is a renowned voice over artist who has carved out a successful career. Carol wants to follow in her father’s footsteps, but she gets no support from her self-absorbed father as he claims voice over work is a male dominated career field. Wanting to strive for her dream and prove her father wrong, Carol sets out to score major voice over gigs. Of course, this isn’t the only story going on in “In A World…” as there are subplots involving Carol’s sister (Dani) and her husband, Carol and a rival voice actor (Gustav), and Carol and a possible love interest (Louis).

While “In A World…” deserves props for being a unique character study, the niche subject matter and overabundance of ideas drags the film down a bit. It’s clear that Lake Bell has a lot to say here about mistakes, redemption, fathers, the voice over industry, family, sexism, and relationships, but the problem is all of these ideas don’t quite mix well together. It feels as if Bell is trying to express too many ideas for a single film which makes the entire film come off a bit clumsy. The subplot involving Dani and her husband in particular feels like it’s from another movie entirely. I understand that as an artist you need/want to convey certain ideas in your work, but Bell should have saved some of these ideas for another project as “In A World…” is a tad overstuffed.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.40:1 1080p. How does it look? A solid hi-def transfer all-around.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The 5.1 track does the job.

Extras:
* An alternate opening sequence and 8 deleted scenes.
* Sony trailers and 6 “In A World…” promos.
* A goofy gag reel.
* A very informative commentary by Lake Bell. Bell talks about her work, rearranging scenes, cast and crew members, factoids about the production, shooting locations, etc.

Overall Thoughts: The quirky indie stylings of “In A World…” may appeal to film festival devotees, indie film lovers, and Lake Bell fans, but outside of that, I’m not sure how much appeal this film really has.  

January 20, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | In A World... Blu-ray Review, Lake Bell