Blu-ray Review: INCONCEIVABLE (2017): Nicholas Cage Can’t Save a Film Missing Tension

Disc Specifications

Run Time: 106 Minutes

Format: Blu-Ray

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Language: English 5.1 (DTS-HD Master Audio)

Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish

Rating: Rated R

Video

Inconceivable is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer.  Picture quality is very hit and miss.  During the nighttime scenes it becomes difficult to make things out, and some of the outdoor scenes during the day are way too bright, creating a hazy look.  Shot by Cinematographer Brandon Cox close-ups are finely detailed, with nuance found in the eyes of the actors.  There are a couple of shots of Nicky Whelan‘s eyes that are striking and very brightly lit.

Audio

Inconceivable is presented with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.  There is very little sound design in the film, and almost no music for the first 30 minutes.  When the music does come, it is very quiet and does little to help with the thriller aspects of the film.  Dialogue is clean, there are no dropouts or mixing issues.

Blu-Ray Bonus Content

Audio Commentary by Director Jonathan Baker – The commentary by Baker is pretty mundane.  He goes on at length about wanting to make a film that deals with the issues of surrogacy and in-home nanny’s.  While he is clearly passionate about these issues, he also talks about an injury that Faye Dunaway had, which almost forced her to drop out of the film.  They reworked the script to have her seated in all her scenes so she could stay on.

Behind The Scenes of Inconceivable – A short featurrette with the director, the director of photography, and the stars discussing the making of the movie.  Not much more than all the actors rubbing each others ego’s.

Cast/Crew Interviews – A redundant feature since these interviews are also in the behind the scenes feature.  The interviews are exhaustive as the cast really reach to find any semblance of purpose to the film.

Deleted Scene – A brief 30 second scene that offers a little bit more of Faye Dunaway.  Not sure why this got removed from the final film.

Theatrical Trailer, Still Gallery

Film Review

Inconceivable, straight to video and shot by first-time director Jonathan Baker and written by Chloe King, the movie feels like it would have been better having debuted on either Hallmark Channel or Lifetime.  The film opens with a flashback sequence which suggests that the woman we will be following for the rest of the film Katie (Nicky Whelan) comes from an abusive relationship and one which she ends quickly with a knife.  We then jump to what seems like an ideal family, with Gina Gershon and Nick Cage playing married doctors with one child.  They hire Katie to be their nanny and shortly after that, through a series of coincidences and logic hurdles, they ask her to be their surrogate as Gershon‘s character cannot have children.

The film tries to be a thriller, a “Blank-from-Hell” and an “artful” look at the issues of surrogacy, jealousy, and in-home nanny’s.  It comes up very short on the thriller aspects, and leaves a lot to be desired on giving any new insight into the issues it’s raising.  The first 45 minutes of the film follow the mundane lives of the couple and their friends in suburbia, which drags on for too long with scene after scene of pointless discussions and taking their kids to the park or school.  Scenes will abruptly end with no transitions, leaving the viewer confused on what is happening in the narrative, and removing any tension that needs to build up for a thriller to be successful.

The performances by the cast are all pretty mediocre, which isn’t helped by the scripts lack of character development.  Nicholas Cage is completely wasted in the movie.  He has nothing to do with his character as the doormat husband caught in the middle of this psychological war between Whelan and Gershon.  What a career trajectory he has had since his Oscar-winning role in Leaving Las Vegas.  It’s sad because he has talent but gets dumped into this straight-to-video rubbish.  Gina Gershon gives the films best performance.  Her character has a history of drug addiction and paranoia, so she is actually given something to work with.  She has nice subtle moments and glances that create a believable ambiguity in the character.  Faye Dunaway of Chinatown fame is fine, but underutilized.

Overall, Inconceivable has nothing new to offer in terms of the themes it is trying to explore.  The narrative is not focused, and the film fails at creating any tension between the characters and the audience (which should have been so easy since the majority of it takes place in the one family home).  Unless you’re a die-hard Gina Gershon fan, I don’t recommend this.  The film should have been titled “Unbelievable”.

Rating Inconceivable: 4/10

Disc Acquisition

You can purchase Inconceivable here

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