In the Shadows (2000)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	104:49 (Case: 101)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ric Roman Waugh
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Matthew Modine James Caan Joey Lauren Adams Lillo Brancato Cuba Gooding Jr. Roy Ageloff Antoni Corone Scott Waugh Val Avery Jeff Chase Joe Candelora Duke Valenti Kava Stewartson
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$19.95	Music	Adam Gorgoni

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

In the Shadows has an interesting premise but unfortunately is executed in quite average fashion. Despite the cast of Matthew Modine, James Caan, Joey Lauren Adams, Lillo Brancato and Cuba Gooding Jr. you will most likely find this title on the bottom shelves of your video store. In the Shadows was written and directed by stuntman Ric Roman Waugh. This is his second feature film.

The plot of In the Shadows sees Eric, a mafia hit man played by a reserved Matthew Modine, on the trail of Lance Huston, a stunt coordinator played by James Caan. The reason Huston is Eric's next assignment is because Jimmy Pierazzi of a renowned mafia family (Lillo Brancato) secretly had a life as a stuntman and unfortunately died on a film set for which Huston was responsible - the Pierazzi family want to avenge his death. Eric travels to Miami and tries to get to Huston through his daughter Clarissa played by Joey Lauren Adams.

Everything is going to plan but then something happens - it seems Eric is in fact befriending his target and finds himself doing just as his friend Jimmy did, becoming a stuntman and enjoying being close to death. Even more so, Eric begins to fall for Clarissa.

This is the life Eric has dreamed of but the Mafia soon find out their cold hearted killer has turned soft and seek out to do Eric's assignment for him. Furthermore it is revealed Huston was not responsible for Jimmy's death and Eric has to decide what he should do and how he should protect Lance and Clarissa. There are two other sub plots running simultaneously. One involves Jimmy's double crossing deals with a corrupt FBI agent played by Cuba Gooding Jr who the mafia want dead and the other involves Clarissa and her profession as a nurse for cancer patients.

There are a number of things which let the film down. The production looks like a low budget CSI episode, and the plot is quite convoluted. While Modine does his best with the role, he isn't well suited to the role of a hit man who wants release from his restrictive life. Caan, Adams, and Brancato are all fine in their supporting roles and Gooding Jr does a lot with a very minor role. The ending of the film is unconventional but expected. If anything, this film should be commended for trying to remain unique in the genre of an action-thriller but the film falls short due to the conventional execution of the script by an inexperienced director. What is shown well in the film is the recreation of stunt scenes, something Ric Roman Waugh knows well and brings to the screen with enthusiasm and knowledge. Ultimately this is not a good film but if you want to watch a trashy B grade film which is highly implausible and features an A cast with B actors, In The Shadows might prove to be a good night's entertainment.

Video

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, although not 16x9 enhanced, the transfer isn't up to standard. The main offender is MPEG artefacting which is most apparent in the darker scenes, especially the opening sequence which employs the use of black, titanium blue and white. Due to this the picture is soft throughout the course of the feature, although the colours are well represented. There is also some minor grain present on the print. Overall In The Shadows has received a less then average presentation on DVD despite being a recent film.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, like the video, isn't up to standard and suffers from poor mixing during the final sequence. Despite this the dialogue remains audible during most of the film. Only during the two stunt sequences does the soundtrack use the surrounds to good effect. Otherwise, the scenes are overlaid with the usual suspense/action score. Overall, the soundtrack did not receive the treatment it deserved, especially given this is a more recent film.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Theatrical Trailer

The R4 and R1 releases are identical.

For a film with an estimated budget of $10,000,000 USD, it seems most of it went on the major action scenes in the film and the actors' salaries. The film takes a different approach to the action thriller genre but unfortunately ends up much like its counterparts. The DVD is of very average quality which is a shame as it hinders the viewer from enjoying the feature.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall