Solace appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a positive presentation.
Sharpness was solid. Virtually no softness marred the proceedings, so the flick offered strong delineation. No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and the presentation lacked edge haloes. In terms of source defects, I witnessed no specks, marks or other issues; the Blu-ray gave us a clean transfer.
In terms of palette, Solace went with Hollywood Standard teal and orange, with an emphasis on the blue/green. That seemed like a lackluster choice, but I couldn’t complain about the execution of the tones, as they seemed fine. Blacks appeared dark and dense, while shadows showed decent clarity. Across the board, this became an impressive image.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, its supernatural elements added kick to the proceedings. These accentuated events in an active manner that used all five speakers in an involving way and provided oomph to the proceedings.
The movie also featured a good sense of ambience during its more atmospheric scenes. Music showed nice use of the channels and contributed to the film’s tone.
Audio quality seemed solid. Speech appeared natural and concise, as the lines always remained intelligible.
Music seemed full and rich, while effects showed good accuracy, with impressive low-end at times. The soundtrack added to the story.
In terms of extras, we get an audio commentary from director Afonso Poyart. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, effects, music and related topics.
While not devoid of useful content, Poyart’s commentary lacks much meat. He covers basics in a reasonable manner but also tends to simply narrate the film too often. Throw in spots of dead air and this becomes a lackluster chat.
Visions and Voices runs eight minutes, 40 seconds. It features comments from Poyart, producer Beau Flynn, and actors Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell, and Abbie Cornish. “Voices” discusses the script and its path to the screen, story/characters, cast and performances. The featurette offers a basic look at the production with a promotional bent, so don’t expect much depth.
The disc opens with ads for Misconduct, Life On the Line, Imperium, Manhatten Night and Broken Vows. We also get the trailer for Solace.
Serial killer films can create taut, involving journeys, but Solace fails to make a positive impact. The movie seems contrived and phony, as it lacks the forward momentum and drama it needs. The Blu-ray offers excellent visuals as well as good audio and mediocre supplements. Though I consider myself a fan of the genre, Solace fails to connect.