Inkheart (DVD)

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You can see the tale's problem: Half the time you're wondering what the heck is going on and why things are so internally inconsistent, and the other half of the time you find there are so many characters, real and fictional, running around unfocused and half realized, it's hard to tell with whom to sympathize. When you have to question every other scene and a ferret steals the show, you know you're in trouble.

In its favor, the movie has some amiable characters in it, including the comical villains, and its Italian settings are gorgeous. To its detriment, though, it plays as if the author made up the narrative as it went along. Worse, the story has little real excitement or wit about it; in fact, it's rather somber most of the time, with director Iain Softley ("Hackers," "The Wings of the Dove," "The Skeleton Key") taking everything quite literally. As a result, "Inkheart" lacks much life or sparkle to draw one in. It just sort of sits there, hoping you've read the book and can fill in the details for yourself.

The movie alternates between gritty reality and semi-humorous whimsy, without much regard for the viewer's perception of the two moods. Plus, the episodic nature of the adventures tends to move the plot along in clumsy starts and stops, which doesn't exactly help its coherence or continuity.

You'd think "Inkheart" would be the perfect movie for book lovers, but, unfortunately, it's too inconsistent and illogical even in its own make-believe universe to be entirely satisfying.

Video:
Warner/New Line offer the DVD picture in two screen formats, wide (2.40:1) and standard (1.33:1). The studio continues to insist that the standard-screen version has been formatted to fit my screen. I dunno. I watched in widescreen, of course, where the anamorphic reproduction looked pretty good--reasonably clean and clear. Colors are fairly natural, except some facial hues, which tended to be too dark. Definition is on a par with most SD discs these days, meaning it can't compete with 1080p high-def but holds its own in any case. It is sometimes a bit soft and veiled, but in broad daylight scenes, things are more radiant. The cinematographer caught the Italian landscape well, and longer scenic shots come off with a modest amount of detail.

Audio:
The disc provides Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, displaying an acceptably taut mid-bass, a slightly forward but still natural midrange, some occasionally glistening highs, and a decent dynamic range and impact. The standout, however, is the all-enveloping surround activity. A rain of gold coins is particularly effective, as is a tornado that whips up a good bit energy.

Extras:
There is not much in the way of extras involved on the disc. Maybe the studio figured the two screen formats were enough. The only other bonus items are the featurette "Eliza Reads to Us," a four-minute segment wherein the young actress reads a passage from the book that is not in the movie; and access to a digital copy of the movie, compatible with Windows Media only and not with Apple Macintosh and iPod devices.

In addition, we get twenty-five scene selections; English as the only spoken language; Spanish subtitles; English captions for the hearing impaired; and a handsomely embossed slipcover for the keep case. (Incidentally, the keep case is one of those affairs that many studios are using these days, one with the plastic cut away front and back in several different designs. I'm not sure if these cases are supposed to save money on materials or look cool or what, but to me they seem flimsy and cheap.)

Parting Shots:
Earlier, I commended "The Lord of the Rings" and the "Harry Potter" fantasies, and from where I stand the only other recent films I can mention in the same breath with them are "Stardust," "Enchanted," and "The Chronicles of Narnia," movies that adults and young adults can enjoy equally for their magic, adventure, and humor. It's true that I had high hopes for "The Golden Compass" as well, but that film didn't quite pan out as I hoped it would. That brings us to "Inkheart," which, like "The Golden Compass," goes for a dark, somber, yet still largely juvenile tone. As such, it works perfectly well; just don't expect it to capture everybody's imagination.

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