2:37 (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making Of Audio Commentary Gallery-Photo-Behind The Scenes Gallery-Stills Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	95:04 (Case: 88)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (66:39)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Murali K. Thalluri
Studio Distributor	Arclight Films Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Teresa Palmer Joel Mackenzie Frank Sweet Clementine Mellor Charles Baird Sam Harris Marni Spillane Sarah Hudson Chris Olver Xavier Samuel Gary Sweet
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	Mark Tschanz

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	?
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The subject of teenage suicide is a theme full of trepidation for any filmmaker, let alone a first time writer/director. Murali K. Thalluri has drawn on some personal experiences to create a tale of teenage angst that has brought with it a combination of critical acclaim and condemnation for various reasons.

    Thalluri has gathered a cast of unknown and inexperienced young actors to perform the complex roles so critical to the overall success of the project. For some, their performance in 2:37 marks their first acting experience. The faith bestowed in these actors has paid off nicely, with an incredible degree of maturity displayed in their performances. Naturally, this has also served to intensify the confronting nature of the film in general.

    The film centres on one particular day at an undisclosed high school. The film opens at 2:37pm with the gruesome discovery of a suicide in a locked toilet. At this point the audience is not privy to the identity of the person, which allows the narrative to revert back to "earlier that day" without any revelations.

    We are then introduced to a select group of six students and the issues that trouble their lives. Issues of homosexuality, incest, bullying, teenage pregnancy and general peer group pressures influence the student's lives. Many significant social problems that might greatly affect a young persons life are present within the walls of this school, or more specifically, within this small group of students.

    Throughout the day the audience views each character's journey from differing perspectives. Cleverly choreographed character interaction becomes the pivoting point as to which viewpoint the audience sees the story from. Elements of previous scenes are easily linked to help piece together events and character movements.

    The film also uses close up and intimate character interviews, which are interwoven with the progressive events of the day. These documentary style interviews are used to convey the innermost thoughts and emotions of characters, while also adding another dimension to the narrative.

    As each character's predicament is slowly revealed, the ambiguous nature of the suicide remains just that. However, at 2:37 the events of the day reach full circle and the full revelation of the tragedy is discovered.

    2:37 has drawn heavy comparisons with the 2003 Gus van Sant film, Elephant. Murali Thalluri makes a brief reference to van Sant and Elephant during his commentary, but plays down the similarities between the films. Interestingly, Gus van Sant is thanked in the closing credits of 2:37.

   Whatever your opinion of the film, it is difficult not to admire the determination of Thalluri and his resolute desire to make this film. When all is said and done, it's not a bad achievement for a person with no prior filmmaking experience and no formal film training.

Video

    Considering the different film stocks used in the film, the video transfer for 2:37 has come up quite good.

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which is 16x9 enhanced. The film's correct aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

    2:37 was filmed using three different formats; standard definition digital video,  high definition digital video and Super 16mm film. Naturally, all three sources exhibit varying degrees of sharpness and clarity, but are used well and with a purpose. Most of the film was shot using the standard definition video, which gives a slightly soft result. This is especially evident when seen in direct comparison against the black and white high definition video that was used for the character interviews. The opening slow motion footage was filmed using 16mm film stock. All three sources have been used with deliberate purpose and overall they marry together really well. The transfer certainly appears to have remained faithful to all three sources. Blacks are clean and free of any low-level-noise and shadow detail was generally very good.

     Colours appeared completely natural and nicely balanced.

    There were no MPEG artefacts on the disc. Film-to-video artefacts did not present a significant issue and film artefacts didn't exist.

    The only subtitles available on the DVD are English subtitles for the hearing impaired. They are easy to read, in bold white and appear to be very accurate.

    This DVD is a single sided, dual-layered disc. The layer change occurs at 66:39 and is reasonably well placed in one of the character interviews.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio transfer is also quite impressive.

    There are three audio tracks available on the DVD; English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s), English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) and an English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0, 448Kb/s).

    Dialogue quality is excellent. I had no adverse problems hearing and comprehending any of the dialogue.

    Audio sync is also very accurate.

    The original and atmospheric music score is credited to Mark Tschanz. It has a beautiful, haunting quality that compliments the content of the film superbly. This original music is also enhanced with the use of some non-original, classical pieces by the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Vivaldi.

    The surround channels offered some wonderfully subtle ambient sound, such as general school noise in corridors and the like. This, as well as the occasional directional sound placement, gives the overall sound design a real presence within the narrative.

    The subwoofer kicks in often to heighten bass effects in the music and the general sound design.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     The selection of extras on offer is relevant and worthwhile.

Menu

     The main menu features subtle animation, with music from the film, and is 16x9 enhanced.

Featurette -  Making of... (33:10)

    This "making of" featurette offers excellent insight into all aspects of the production. It features comprehensive interviews with cast and crew, together with behind-the-scenes and final cut footage.

Audio Commentary - Murali K. Thalluri (Writer, Director, Co-Producer),  Nick Matthews (Director of Photography, Co-Producer),  Kent Smith (Producer)

    It is very obvious throughout this commentary that all concerned are very proud of this film. Murali's input is the most prevalent, while the others join in with relevant information regularly. The commentary offers significant information regarding all areas of the production and is well worth the listen

Deleted Scenes 

• Stephen Tracking Shot (4:34)
• Funeral Scene (3:18)

Gallery 1 - Behind-The-Scenes

    A collection of 14 behind-the-scenes images from the film.

Gallery 2 - Stills From The Movie

    A collection of 14 images taken from the film.

Theatrical Trailer

    2:37 (1:50)

     The subject matter alone of 2:37 is enough to guarantee that the film will never appeal to a wide mainstream audience. The confronting suicide scene late in the film is harrowing to watch and will no doubt distress some viewers. However, 2:37 has some wonderful performances from a largely untried cast and is very worthwhile, provided you can handle the grim outcome.

    The transfers are excellent and appear faithful to the source material.

    The selection of extras offer great insight into the production of the film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall