The Contract is one of those films that appears to have everything going for it. When I received my most recent batch of Blu-ray titles to review, this was the one that caught my eye. It wasn’t in the box office very long, so I did not have the opportunity to catch it in that kind of grand setting. I wanted to, but I was likely watching reruns of Mork and Mindy for you guys. From the film’s start, that potential begins to be completely realized. We are introduced to the two very different personalities in this film. Morgan Freeman is a cold as ice assassin with a new job to perform. We watch him interact with his team in a manner that honestly should send shivers up your spine. We are also introduced to a normal everyday father played by John Cusak. He fits the part perfectly, and we watch him trying to relate to his son in a frustrating manner that all fathers must experience at some points in their relationship with their sons. Sorry Dad. These starkly different realities strike a chord of wariness for us as viewers, because we know something that these characters don’t yet. We know these vastly contrasting worlds are destined to collide somewhere along the way. Seldom have I felt so much anticipation for a predictable outcome. When it happens, the film takes off for us, and our expectations begin to be fulfilled.
But something happens halfway through this film. Freeman loses some of his coldness and Cusak begins to find his own. While this little juxtaposition of characteristics might serve some creative, stylish intent, the movie suffers for it. The emotional currency that director Bruce Beresford has accumulated gets spent long before the film pays off. I can’t tell you exactly when it happened, but I can tell you that the movie eventually becomes somewhat of a predictable cat and mouse game. A game we’ve seen played far too many times and with far more interesting twists than we get here. So, I find myself feeling like I’ve just seen two movies instead of one. I loved the first, but the second rather bored me to tears and perhaps a few stolen moments of slumber. To be sure the locations are rather sweet, and in high definition they offer some rather pleasing visual stimulation. Of course, I can get the same thing by watching the Discovery Channel. No, I needed something more. I needed to see these very different worlds continue to collide and cause friction and conflict. Somewhere along the way they began to co-exist in a peaceful and ultimately uninteresting way.
Frank Carden (Freeman) is an ex CIA/Military operative. He now works for the highest bidder. He has assembled a team of special forces operatives, and they kill for money. During one of their elaborate hits, Carden is injured in an auto accident. Once the feds find out that he’s in custody, they want him out. It seems he’s the only one who knows where or how to collect payment on the current contract. The feds want him, but not every fed wants him alive. It seems Frank has secrets to tell. When the prisoner is being transported, the car is taken out along an isolated wilderness mountain pass. The car ends up in a fast moving river, and he and the Marshal escorting him are carried off by the strong current. The two end up coming to where Ray (Cusak) is out trying to bond with his son who has just been suspended for smoking pot at school, where he is also a gym teacher. They fish the two men out of the water. The Marshal is mortally wounded, and with his dying breath charges Ray with getting Carden to justice. What’s an ordinary Joe to do? Ray accepts the challenge, and the three begin to march through the wilderness. They are joined by a couple of campers along the way. Now they must get Carden to the proper authorities while being hunted by Carden’s crack team and the feds.
There’s no question that Morgan Freeman is a tremendous talent. He shows it here, and when the character goes wrong it really isn’t Freeman’s fault. It’s the script that forces the character in an uneasy direction. It’s a shame, really, because there are some very clever and exciting moments in the film. Cusak doesn’t necessarily shine, but he’s made a career out of not having to. His characters are always minimalist people that are pretty much intended to represent the average guy. Even when he’s put into more extraordinary roles he finds his way by making them at least appear normal. Alice Krige joins the cast as the fed who wants Carden dead. It’s a one-note performance all the way and a throwaway character. The team is made up of the usual kinds of character actors and personalities. It’s almost a cliché’. The last 20 minutes of the film are completely unnecessary. For some reason it was decided that the film required a coda to over-cleverly tie up loose ends that could have been taken care of in the field, so to speak. It has the feel of being tacked on, and it all ends far too pat for my tastes.
Video
The Contract is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. You get a perfectly fine 1080p image using anVC-1 codec. The bit rate is a little disappointing staying below 30 mbps for most of the film. Detail is spotty. There are moments, particularly the face cliff, where there is a tremendous amount of detail and texture to surfaces like the rain soaked rocks here. Some of the vistas are a masterpiece of contrast, showing the wonderful mountain panoramic with brilliant touches of mist and fog. Other times the image appears soft and lacking in that same level of sharpness and clarity. The scenes at the cabin suffer from this problem and perhaps with only average black levels here, while a New York nightscape looks wonderful with deep black levels. I guess I would call the whole thing rather inconsistent. Likely much of the changes are artistic decisions.
Audio
The TrueHD lossless 5.1 track delivers about everything you could want here. Rain provides a wonderful opportunity for ambient sounds and an immersive experience. Dialog is fine. A lot of the film does take place in the front, but when the ambients do kick in they are a pleasant surprise.
Special Features
Inside The Contract: This 21 minute feature is your typical behind the scenes feature. It contains plenty of interview bits from cast and crew and a good look at the stunts.
Final Thoughts
It’s a tale of two films combined into one story. Expect to be thoroughly entertained and thrilled for about an hour. Then expect to be put on the back burner, forgotten and abandoned. Maybe it’s some kind of split personality schizophrenia moment for the writers. I understand these moments of identity crisis and laziness can strike at almost any moment. There’s apparently only one cure. No more audience. Now, I’m not a paid professional mental health practitioner. I don’t even play one on television. “I read it in a book once.”
