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Dom Hemingway Blu-ray Review

Not even a fantastic performance by Jude Law can save this meandering character study.

After a 12 year stint in prison, the loud, foul mouthed, angry, violent, arrogant, safecracker (Dom Hemingway) is released back into the world hoping to turn his life around. While he hopes to connect with his daughter Evelyn AND get the money he is owed from the job the landed him in jail, Dom finds that being released back in the wild (so to speak) is easier said than done. Can Dom go legit or will he revert back to a life of crime again?

While a crime dramedy about an egotistical criminal (with a heart of gold) trying to redeem himself sounds promising on paper, “Dom Hemingway” wears out its welcome early on. Within the first half hour, you’re already tired of the gimmicky title character as he loudly rants about anything and everything. None of the blame should be placed on Jude Law, however, as the always fantastic actor goes all out here with a role that is WILDLY different than anything he has ever done. It’s clear he’s having a blast becoming this smoking, drinking, party man, but it’s a shame writer/director Richard Shepard’s script gives him so little to do. From start to finish, the thin story cries out for more events and or action, but the viewers are left short changed as those “eventful” scenes never come.

Aside from Jude Law, the supporting cast (Richard E. Grant, Emilia Clarke, and Demian Bichir) also deliver fine performances. In fact, everyone in the film is good to great here even though their characters don’t have much to do.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 1080p. How does it look? The colorful, stylistic film looks sharp on Blu-ray.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? Between Dom’s rants and the music, this track handles all of the audio aspects exceedingly well.

Extras:
* A still image gallery.
* “Ping Pong Loop”- A 30 minute loop of the topless ping pong scene.
* A “Dom Hemingway” theatrical trailer and other Fox trailers.
* “Who Is Dom Hemingway?”- A featurette on the title character. Cast and crew interviews and film clips are contained.
* “The Story”- A rundown of the plot that also contains film clips and cast and crew interviews.
* “The Look of Dom Hemingway”- A featurette on the visual look of the film.
*”A Conversation With The Cast And Director” contains a collection of interviews with the cast and writer/director Richard Shepard.
* A solo commentary by writer/director Richard Shepard. He talks about location shooting, scenes, editing, characters, etc. Worth a listen if you dig the movie.

July 25, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Dom Hemingway Blu-ray Review, Emilia Clarke, Jude Law