- Actors: Billy Crudup, Cate Blanchett
- Director: Richard Linklater
- Format: NTSC
- Language: English (DTS 5.1)
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Release Date: November 26, 2019
These days I
usually have to avoid trailers and other promotional materials for new film releases,
as the marketing departments are more interested in selling tickets than preserving
the integrity of the storytelling. As a result, I often find plot points and narrative
twists spoiled long before I have even entered the theater. However, despite
having watched the trailer for Where’d
You Go, Bernadette, I still had little idea what to expect from the film.
Was it a comedy? Was it a drama? Was it a thriller? It ends up being all of
these things, and also none of them.
Based on the
bestselling novel by Maria Semple, the film is a quirky character piece at its
center. Even with a few suspenseful plot twists, more than a few comedic
situations and clever quips within the script, and even a couple
heartbreakingly human moments, the focus always remains on the enigma that is
Bernadette. Even more so than the question raised by the title. This also
provides Cate Blanchett another opportunity to thrive in a female-driven
narrative, not unlike her spectacular Academy Award-winning performance in Blue Jasmine. Bernadette is an easier
character to like than that role, despite possibly being as flawed.
When the
narrative begins, Bernadette is restlessly pacing through her daily routines as
a mother and wife to a bright young teenage daughter (Emma Nelson) and
brilliant husband (Billy Crudup) who is a successful tech developer for
Microsoft. They live a semi-ordinary life in Seattle, despite Bernadette’s
constant battles with the other neighborhood moms (led by Kristen Wiig, playing
one of her go-to characters), and increasingly erratic behavior. After her
daughter requests a family trip to Antarctica, Bernadette’s behavior only gets
worse, leading to concerns over her mental health and physical wellbeing. It
isn’t until more backstory is given that Bernadette’s mental state becomes
fully clear.
Where’s You Go, Bernadette eventually
leads to a mysterious disappearance, of sorts. Despite sharing a slight narrative
similarity to Gone Girl, this story
could not be more tonally different, and the mystery is revealed before long.
More important to the film is the mystery of what brought Bernadette to the
breaking point, and in that is a fantastic character study of a creative
personality type. I’m hesitant to call this a slight film, but it does present
its drama with the type of subtlety which often gets overlooked during award
season.
The Blu-ray
release for Where’d You Go Bernadette
comes with a digital copy of the film, along with a few special features. There
is a featurette about the adaptation of the book, as well as an additional
promo feature about the title character and casting choices. The final extra is
a gallery, including some behind the scenes footage of the production’s time in
Greenland. The decision to film in Greenland rather than simply using a green
screen is also the greatest argument for watching the film in high definition
Blu-ray. The package also comes with a digital copy.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 4/10
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