The Travis family
experiences a stunning tragedy which begins
to unravel
them. Teenaged son Tim (Emile Hirsch, The Girl Next Door)
views his life as a bad dream. His father, Ben (Jeff Daniels -
Speed), tunes out and
treats his
wife and
children like strangers. His mother, Sandy (Sigourney Weaver,
Alien, The Ice Storm) sharpens her tongue and
sarcasm and
dulls her senses
with pot while struggling hard
to conceal a secret
that threatens to ruin them all. With elements of pathos, salty
humor and self-discovery, the Travises learn to accept one another
as family - warts and all.
CRITIQUE
The main complaint
about Imaginary Heroes is the lack of interest in the story
and characters. Several good moments appear throughout the film
(including the opening and closing ten minutes), but the overall
presentation of the story is not very compelling. The characters
we have seen before, especially Sigourney Weaver's mother who
finds solace in smoking pot and then getting busted for trying to
buy some. Her rapport with son Tim plays out kind of nice as both
have a mildly interesting relationship. Emile Hirsch's performance
is fine but another actor could've livened up the character a bit
more. The script by Dan Harris (co-writer of X2: X-Men United)
is decent but again the story could've been told better. Harris
also directs and it definitely shows this is his first directing
gig, although the cinematography and some of the locations are
good. Overall, Imaginary Heroes is decent drama material
but it could've been much better.
THE VIDEO
Sony Pictures presents
Imaginary Heroes in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a
good presentation with a healthy looking print, nice colors and
few if any flaws. English closed captions are available, as are
French subtitles.
THE AUDIO
Sony Pictures presents
Imaginary Heroes in English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The
music and few sound effects come across nicely but overall this
presentation is only average.
THE EXTRAS
The commentary by
Sigourney Weaver is borderline decent as she has some
interesting things to say and shares some observations, but
there's also many dry spots. The commentary by director Dan
Harris and Emile Hirsch fares a little better as they comment
on a lot of different things such as production, acting, specific
scenes. Some comments are interesting, some not. Both tracks are
only average and I only recommend a listen if you love the film.
The handful of
deleted scenes with optional commentary are a decent
collection of scenes. Some are transitional scenes that wisely got
cut.
The
behind-the-scenes featurette barely lasts for seven minutes.
Featured are interviews with the major cast and director Dan
Harris. This featurette is promotional in nature and shows some
on-set footage.
Lastly there is a
behind-the-scenes photo gallery and a round of trailers.
FINAL THOUGHT
Imaginary Heroes
may be what you're looking for on a Saturday afternoon, so give it
a rent. Those viewers seeking a family drama with a better story
and direction should look elsewhere.
