Pu-239 (DVD)

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A moment should be spent on the look of "Pu-239," an American production filmed in Romania. The scenes taking place at the nuclear facility and in the surrounding areas are bathed in a sterile, isolating blue while the rest of the production warms up to a certain extent. It´s not a typical bright American picture, with easily differentiated blacks and whites (owing to the story as well). Full of contrast and never letting us see the entire picture, the production team created a look which is decidedly non-American for an American film. The shadowy look serves the material well, never telling us who to root for or against. It´s as nebulous and non-committal about the subject as the characters tend to be.

VIDEO:
The original 1.85:1 aspect ratio is faithfully reproduced on the disc, anamorphically encoded, delivering a grimy and dirty presentation benefiting the subject material. I didn´t notice any outstanding problems with the transfer, but that´s also to be expected from a 2006 production. One of the most fascinating aspects of the video specs is how every color-dark or light-comes across with all the aplomb it can muster without being offensive or stand out from everything else too much. After all, one of the unspoken dictates Timofey lives under after he leaves his home is to be under the radar. The transfer follows the same dictum: do what it needs to do without being showy. Blacks are deep and prevalent while the production is modestly lit. This is a first class transfer from HBO.

AUDIO:
Another in a line of quiet HBO products with 5.1 tracks for no good reason. Don´t get me wrong: I will always fully support the inclusion of the best and most dynamic audio options whether the material justifies the use or not. There are no discernible issues with the track; it´s free of hissing, pops or other imperfections. Considering every character speaks in an accent of some kind, it´s no small feat I didn´t have to employ the English subtitles at any time in the movie. This isn´t a dynamic or reference disc simply because not much happens in it. However, it is on par with the video encode in terms of quality.

EXTRAS:
The only extra we have is a commentary track with writer/director Scott Z. Burns and producer Peter Berg. These men are friends outside of the film and as such almost forget they´re recording the track for a wider audience. Berg finds himself in the role of moderator more often than not, prompting Burns with questions about the production. In the grand scheme of behind the scenes tracks like this, there are better and there are worse. It´s the friendship here which gets in the way, making it a laborious ride to get through without giving up despite the wealth of information being presented.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
"Pu-239" left me cold, as if everything we had experienced with Timofey and Shiv was for naught in the end. And, to be honest, it is. Shiv won´t be there for his son, Timofey fails in securing his family´s future. Even a coda in which two hapless thugs start snorting the plutonium does nothing but elicit a sigh. The entire film thinks it´s so smart, so important it feels the need to introduce these comic elements to lighten the load. Was this a part of the original short story? Possibly, and if so, then the blame should be divided amongst Burns for writing the adapted screenplay and Ken Kalfus for the original. Would it have been so hard to make the movie amount to anything in the end?