Elizabethtown

“Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) has been fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend, and just when things couldn’t seem to get worse, he receives word that his father has passed away. After being asked to travel to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to make sure his father’s dying wishers are fulfilled, a life-changing romantic odyssey awaits, after meeting an optimistic flight attendant named Claire (Kirsten Dunst). Elizabethtown comes to Blu-ray for the first time in this limited-edition release, restored from a new 4k film transfer, supervised by writer/director Cameron Crowe, and packed with special features.”

Paramount has released yet another film that somehow had not yet been released on Blu-ray, adding it to their growing Paramount Presents collection, a valued addition for fans of the film and of Cameron Crowe.

Crowe’s critical success in the late 90s and early 2000s solidified him as a household name when it came to writer/directors. Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, all very influential films with a lot to say. With Elizabethtown, Crowe focused primarily again on a story sourced from his own life after visiting the grave of his father, which gave him the inspiration for the story.

As with any story, there are parts of Elizabethtown I favor more heavily than others. What Crowe is always able to do brilliantly in any of his films, is able to access that emotional core of the viewers, whether it’s a coming-of-age story, a love story, or a coming to terms with the death of your father kind of story. While this is a unique blend, I can’t help but always favor the loss portion of this story, as it seems much more real than anything else he writes. The character of Drew Baylor has lost everything, literally. He’s cost his company, ‘rounding up’, a billion dollars, his girlfriend, he’s thrown out all his possessions in a snap decision to end it all, and now his father. What he can’t imagine is the change that is about to come into his life, not only that of Claire, but of the journey he takes to reconnect with his family, his roots, in a trip he should have taken with his father years before. It’s this journey that is so captivating and ultimately the most entertaining part of Elizabethtown.

One thing that Crowe does extremely well is write mysterious female characters, as he did in Almost Famous with Kate Hudson’s character, he does for Kirsten Dunst. One of the weakest parts of the film, however, is how long it takes for us to get to know Claire and her nuances, as when we first meet her she comes off as clingy, annoying and obsessive as she refuses to leave Drew’s side on the plane, insisting she draw him maps, accosting him at the terminal as he just tries to leave. It’s not a good first impression, but as the story dives in deeper into the relationship that begins to form with Drew and Claire, she says something that is uniquely Crowe: “We’re the substitute people”. Good for a burn hot and bright relationship that ends just as abruptly as it began. As conflicted as I can be on Dunst’s performances in her career, this one, save for the on-and-off accent that seems to come and go, I find to be quite enjoyable. She’s mysterious, funny, easy to fall for as the main character.

Crowe’s protagonists usually have a bit of himself written in, and Orlando Bloom’s portrayal of Drew Baylor, when it comes to the loss portion of the story, is very moving. Bloom is able to capture those feelings of despair as everything in his life crumbles around him, with only a shred of light at the end of the tunnel that there may be hope for him in Claire. As much as I think Bloom nails that part of the character, I think the film’s biggest flaw in the film is Bloom’s uneven performance. He can show some true emotion at times, but others his dialogue and acting seems so hollow and unemotional that it distracts from the scene. Problems keeping up with the American accent? I can’t say for sure, but it’s this factor that keeps Elizabethtown from rising to the ranks of some of his pervious films.

Of course, living very close to Elizabethtown, Louisville, and Versailles, which a lot of the film was shot, Elizabethtown has a closer-to-home feeling for me than it may for others. While I love the attention to detail about the area, they go a bit overboard in trying to saturate the audience in what they consider to be the culture of the area. Does every girl have a Maker’s Mark night shirt? An Ale 8 shirt? Drink a $200 bottle of Blanton’s in the kitchen in the middle of the night? What should be entertaining at recognizing a lot of places in the film, for me, comes off as ingenuine.

Despite some of the weak parts of Elizabethtown, it’s the journey that Drew Baylor takes that still invokes that strong emotion about family and loved ones. As with any Crowe film, that journey is also filled with some great music to ensure the trip is that much more enjoyable.

Video

Elizabethtown is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 that features a brand new, restored 4k film transfer. The film looks gorgeous in Blu-ray, very clear and detailed. Colors especially are accurate, and with a wide array of different settings, especially during the road trip in the third act, we get to see the range of these brilliant and vivid colors. Fans of this film couldn’t ask for anything better from Paramount, as they continue to treat the films in this line with care and consideration.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. On this track you’ll be hearing mostly dialogue from the center channel, with the surrounds utilized nicely for atmospheric effects and for the score. With Crowe’s background in music, he’s able to select an excellent and wide array of different artists and songs that perfectly reflect the tone of the scene. Again, the road-trip third act highlights these perfectly, the styles changing as Drew makes his way further west.

Special Features

There are plenty of extras to go through on this disc. While one brand new feature is the Filmmaker Focus, others are vintage featurettes, still worth your time going through if you never owned the DVD. This set contains what you’d come to expect with the Paramount Presents line: a slipcover that opens to reveal the theatrical poster, along with a Digital Code.

Extras include:

• New Filmmaker Focus: Cameron Crowe on Elizabethtown
• Introduction to Deleted and Extended Scenes by Director Cameron Crowe
• On the Road to Elizabethtown
• The Music of Elizabethtown
• “Meet the Crew” Featurette
• “Training Wheels” Featurette
• Photo Gallery by Neal Preston
• Trailers and TV Spot

Elizabethtown has its flaws, and isn’t Crowe’s best work, but receives this well-deserved treatment from Paramount. As much as I love his other films, I do always find a special emotional connection with this one, and I know I’m not alone. For the first time on Blu-ray, this is a great addition to any collection.