Warner Bros. | 2009 | 101 mins. | Rated R
Adapted from the Eisner Award nominated Oni Press comic series of the same name, Whiteout has what I’m sure the filmmakers felt was a surefire gimmick; the tale is set in Antarctica, and there aren’t a lot of murders that happen in that icy region of the world. Unfortunately for director Dominic Sena (Swordfish) and the four screenwriters attached to the script, the film is nothing particularly new or interesting. While Whiteout is far from terrible, anyone who counts The Silence of the Lambs, Fargo, or Murder By Numbers among their film favorites, has seen a somewhat similar story done to much better effect.
The film begins with a prologue in which we learn a Russian cargo plane crashed in Antarctica in 1957 after the pilot and copilot tried to murder the guards of something very valuable they were carrying. Everyone aboard the plane died, and the plane disappeared in the snow.
We then move to the present day. For the past two years, U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) has had the mundane job of keeping order at the Amundsen-Scott Base, a U.S. Scientific Research Facility studying global warming in Antarctica. Clearly not a heck of a lot happens there; within five minutes of appearing on screen, Marshal Stetko is stripping down to take a shower. Just a few days before she’s scheduled to go home to the States (and leave the U.S. Marshal Service), things get unexpectedly interesting. A pilot finds a dead body. The victim is a geologist who may have been murdered. Despite the fact that her stay in Antarctica is almost over, Carrie decides to stay and solve the case.
It’s pretty obvious from the start that this murder is somehow related to that plane crash back in 1957. Despite the fact that there are several suspects, it’s easier to figure out whodunit than your average episode of Law & Order. Having said that, where there’s no mystery, there’s a ho-hum movie; everyone around the place is suspicious: There’s Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht), a guy who claims to be a U.N. Special Investigator who just happened to be in the area (like Antarctica is just down the street) when the base reported the murder to the FBI. There’s Delfy (Columbus Short), a pilot at the base, and the one who discovered the body. There’s Dr. John Fury (Tom Skerritt), the base’s chief medical officer. And there’s Russell Haden (Alex O’Louglin), a a leering Australian who just looks guilty, and any number of other unnamed personnel who do whatever people do at an outpost in Antarctica.
Aside from lack of mystery, Whiteout suffers from some pretty bad dialogue. Beckinsale’s character has a tendency to announce exactly what’s she’s doing, while she’s doing it. It’s as if she doesn’t want us to miss anything in case we’ve shut our eyes (did the filmmakers fear audiences might fall asleep?) It is interesting to note that whiteout finished filming in 2007, and didn’t arrive in theaters until September, 2009. In the end, I found the film as mundane as the better part of U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko’s time in Antarctica.
Whiteout arrives on Blu-ray with a surprisingly inconsistent 1080p/VC-1 transfer. While I was prepared to deal with low-visibility shots and wavering detail due to the harsh weather conditions, many of the film’s interior scenes, suffer from soft faces, mediocre texture clarity and poor delineation. While colors are strong and blacks are quite deep, contrast tends to surge and lull, transforming white snow storms into gray whirlwinds and bright labs into dim spaces. Grain comes and goes as well. The film’s opening and Carrie’s flashbacks are sharp and refined, but other scenes resemble DNR disasters. On a positive note, artifacting, aliasing, banding and other anomalies are kept to a minimum, and edge enhancement, though apparent at times, never becomes a serious distraction.
Warner’s bustling Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track is fairly solid. Dialogue has a few issues — lines in the center channel are occasionally muffled — but overall prioritization is spot on and the vast majority of conversations sound as weighty and commanding as they should. LFE output is noteworthy as well, lending roaring blizzardsand John Frizzell’s score genuine power and presence. The rear speakers are as aggressive and involving as they come, handily enveloping the listener and creating a memorable sonic experience.
The disc includes English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Whiteout has the following special features:
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 4 min) – A scene involving the reporting of one’s stolen weed highlights this pile of omissions.
• The Coldest Thriller Ever (HD, 12 min) – Cast and crew discuss working under the harshest of conditions, from precautions, fears, and anecdotes about working in such an environment, to scouting locations and set creation.
• Whiteout: From Page to Screen (HD, 12 min) – The cast and the comic creators discuss adapting the comic to film.
• Digital Copy – A PC and Mac compatible digital copy of the film is housed on disc two. The digital copy code doubles for a Warner Bonus Blu code, for the buy 5, get 1 free site.
Whiteout is currently available on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download.
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