|
The hero of the film is Jonathan Rivers (Michael Keaton)
who is an architect deeply in love with his writer wife Anna
(Chandra West). Unfortunately he is about to lose her - forever
- and this sets him on a trail of grief that is hard for him
to rise above.
While trying to get on with his life he is approached by
a seemingly wacky Englishman called Raymond (the wonderful
Ian McNeice) who tells him that his wife wants to contact
him through Electronic Voice Phenomenon - the white noise
on televisions and radios.
EVP is a way for the spirit world to contact the living,
Raymond says, and if Rivers needs to get in touch with his
second wife then he can help. Electrical equipment can record
the contact and Raymond says his obsession is helping people
get in touch with the other side.
Raymond introduces Rivers to the beautiful Sarah (Deborah
Kara Unger), who is trying to contact her dead husband-to-be.
Disbelieving at first, it takes a couple of mysterious phone
calls from his dead wife's phone to make Rivers doubt his
refusal to believe in EVP. From there he begins a strange
journey into the spirit world and finds that not all are nice
beings.
White Noise explores the search for the dead with a good
pacy start but as Rivers delves deeper into his new passion,
it kicks into its darker, thriller mode. People begin turning
up dead and it dawns on Rivers that maybe both he and Sarah
and in danger from the more belligerent spirits floating around.
Keaton is terrific in the lead role and has a presence and
command of the screen that allows him to underplay his character
giving the movie more credibility and Rivers even more empathy.
Unger is very good as his partner-in-suspense but my eyes
are always drawn to McNiece, his increasing number of chins,
and the wonderful characters he evolves. The imagery in White
Noise is superb and the video transfer excellent. All up it's
a very good DVD package.
DVD Extras
There is a good extras package that includes a commentary
and featurettes on EVP, called 'Making Contact: E.V.P. Experts'.
There's also an audio commentary from Geoffrey Sax (the Director)
and Michael Keaton. Other bonus materials include two more
featurettes. One is called 'Recording The Afterlife At Home',
and the other is 'Hearing Is Believing: Actual E.V.P. Sessions'.
Lastly, there's also some interesting deleted scenes, complete
with optional director's commentary.
Conclusion: Movie 85% Extras: 75%
|
