In 2011, fresh from helming Orphan and Unknown (and far away from the stink that was the House Of Wax remake), Jaume Collet-Serra teamed up with his friend Juan Solá to create Ombra Films, a studio dedicated to bringing Spanish talent to Hollywood. Their first catch was Anna (aka Mindscape for European audiences), the debut feature of Jorge Dorado. The film made it’s debut at the 46th Sitges Film Festival, enjoyed success in it’s native Spain and Europe, and made it’s North American debut at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 5, 2014. Now the film has finally made it’s way to DVD. So, with all that exposition out of the way, what’s up with Anna?
John Washington (Mark Strong) is a “memory detective”. Essentially, he’s been gifted with the ability to peer into people’s memories. After a recent bad trip that involved his own personal memories leaking into someone else’s recollections, Washington is back at it, albeit a little on the shaky side. He’s been assigned a simple case: Determine whether Anna Greene (Taissa Farmiga), a disturbed sixteen-year-old on a hunger strike, is suffering from some sort of past trauma, or whether she’s actually a manipulative sociopath. Unfortunately for Washington, Anna holds a lot more than what he (or anyone) suspects.
Okay, time to get the elephant out of the room: Yes, the film echoes a lot of stuff from Christopher Nolan’s Inception. But really, that’s unfair to Anna and it’s first-time director. Put that out of your head. Now, like Inception (dammit), we’ve got an interesting premise that hasn’t really been used before. Seriously, there’s a real sense of cat-and-mouse going on here with Washington and Anna, which is only helped out by their respective actors’ performances. It’s reminiscent of Lecter/Starling exchanges. I give Strong credit for breaking out of his usual bad guy role. He brings an intensity to the character, while also showcasing Washington’s vulnerabilities that he struggles to keep in check. Farmiga is also excellent, managing to handle many of Anne’s straddling between her perceived innocence and the more sinister. While both actors do have their share of suspect lines (Farmiga doesn’t do so well with exposition), there’s still a good amount of talent involved.
Visually, cinematographer Oscar Faura crafts some really nice shots. He’s helped out by the locales used, lots of playing with shadow, and some good use of post effects for the flashback sequences. The camera often focuses on close-ups of objects, particularly the metronome that Anna insists on running while John delves into her memories. I’m not entirely sure why that was, however. Nevertheless, this is still quite impressive, even if some of the symbolism beats you over the head.
This heavy-handedness with the symbolism is unfortunately only part of the bigger problem of Anna: The script. As mentioned, some of the lines Farmiga and Strong have to deal with aren’t quite believable. Also, Strong’s character has a few nagging holes (such as the underdeveloped romance plotline with Judith (Indira Varma). Making matters worse is the fact that the script is excessively talky in the ADR department, holding your hand and spewing exposition, reminding you where we are in the story. It gets old very fast. To top things off, while the film is an agreeable slow-burn, the last 15 minutes suddenly decide to crank it, squeeze in a twist and end with a lacklustre resolution (if you can call it that). While first-time director Jorge Dorado fares alright in his first picture, it isn’t complex enough to really stand out.
So despite some slick visuals and strong acting by Strong and Farmiga, the script really pulls Anne down. Had the excessive exposition been pared down and the latter half of the film been fleshed out, this would’ve made for a good thriller. It still has components that make it a casual thriller, but don’t expect it to even be close to what Christopher Nolan was able to pull off.
Video/Audio:
Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the film looks quite good. There’s a fine layer of film grain throughout that is unobtrusive or distracting. Flashbacks are presented with a higher colour saturation and higher film grain than the rest of the film, but it’s all consistent. Detail is quite good, with very little edge enhancement (if any). Overall, a great job by cinematographer Oscar Faura.
Sound-wise, the film sports a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. While you’re not going to get the rumblings of Inception (sorry), what’s here is adequate for the picture. Dialogue is clear and free of distortion, and the film makes fairly good use of directional sounds.
Extras:
Aside from the digital copy of the film and the film’s trailer, you get NATHING.