Suburbicon is a 2017 American crime thriller black comedy film that was directed by George Clooney and co-written by Clooney, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, and Grant Heslov. The film stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac, and follows a mild-mannered father who must face is demons after a home invasion shakes his quaint neighborhood in 1959.
Principal photography began in October 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Suburbicon made its premiere in the main competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2017, then screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 27, 2017. Overall, it received generally negative reviews from critics, who called the plot “awkwardly jammed together” and noted it as a disappointment given the talent that is involved, and was a box office bomb as it made just $10 million against its $25 million operating budget.
The Film Itself (3.5/5):
After sitting down with Suburbicon, I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect; but, I went in with an completely open mind and found myself kind of enjoying this film. The beginning portions of the film start off considerably rough and move at what felt like a snails pace. In fact, the movie actually tricks you into thinking that it centralizes itself on racial tension given the time period that it takes place in and the overall awkwardness among the towns people as they realize that an African American family has moved into the area. But, as Damon’s character comes face to face with his inevitable demons, things really start to get interesting and the story starts to get really good.
Picture Quality (5/5):
Overall, the picture quality of Suburbicon looked really great as it played out across my living room television. Offering audiences a not too terribly bright picturesque look into the late 1950s, once can really gain an appreciation for the attention to detail that the production crew put into this film. The camerawork of the film has an added bonus as the beginning of the awkwardness due to racial issues among the town people added a really nice emphasis and distraction away from the overall plot before things started to get really serious.
Audio Quality (5/5):
Packaged with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, Suburbicon sounded absolutely amazing as it played through my home theater system. Placing its viewers right into the middle of the late 50s in the neighborhood of Suburbicon. This feature doesn’t really require much in terms of immersion due to its lower toned sequences and proper use of the rear and front channels. Dialogue was extremely clear and completely understandable, as well as there being some obvious focus on smaller specifics as the story progressed that allows for some foreshadowing.
The Packaging (2.5/5):
Suburbicon comes packaged in your standard single-disc Blu-ray amaray case. Within that case is the standard Blu-ray copy of the film. With the disc in this release feature any artwork on the disc whatsoever outside of the standard release text. A digital copy redemption pamphlet has been included to allow those who pick this up to add the movie to their digital collections. A slipcover has also been provided during the initial print run of this release.
Special Features (4/5):
There are a few additional features that have been included on the Blu-ray release of Suburbicon. The features included do allow for an expanded look into not only the work that went into making this movie happen, but an expanded view into the storyline at hand. Included with this release is:
- Feature Audio Commentary By George Clooney And Grant Heslov
- Welcome To Suburbicon
- The Unusual Suspects: Casting
- Scoring Suburbicon
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English, English SDH, Spanish
Runtime
Original Film: 104 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I was genuinely surprised by Suburbicon. Despite all of the negative feedback that this movie seems to have been getting from critics, the storyline ended up being something that I enjoyed; especially after the plot twist and things started to get considerably crazier. The film does start off a bit rough and may bore some of you out there, but stay strong and get through the storyline and I can promise you that you may end up liking the latter half of the film. The picture and audio quality of the Blu-ray release was really nicely done and offered a beautiful look into the late 1950s. The audio track, while not as immersive as a 7.1 or Atmos track, I can tell you that this film doesn’t necessarily call for the additional channels and the included 5.1 audio track does a fantastic job. The additional content that’s been provided allows for a nice look into the work that went into making the film as well as the story in a small aspect. If you’re on the fence about picking this film up for your collection, I’d recommend picking it up or at least renting it before purchasing to see if it may be something that you too would enjoy. Suburbicon will be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning on February 6, 2018.
Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.