Review of Chromophobia

Introduction

Marcus Aylesbury (Damian Lewis) is a successful and wealthy partner in a firm of lawyers with links to a minister of the Crown. His wife, Iona (Kristin Scott Thomas), is an insecure shopaholic who wants breast augmentation surgery and has trouble dealing with their attention-seeking young son, Orlando and his godfather, Stephen (Ralph Fiennes). The clothes Iona gives to charity are bought by Gloria (Penélope Cruz) a Spanish call-girl, whose clients include Marcus' father, Edward, a high court judge. Gloria's social worker Colin (Rhys Ifans) risks blurring the line between a personal and professional relationship.

If this didn't make Marcus' life complicated enough, the minister is involved in dodgy dealings with a 'blind trust' which Marcus, while drunk, tells to his friend Trent (Ben Chaplin), who just happens to be a journalist.

As with Onegin, this is a bit of a Fiennes family reunion, with Martha writing and directing, and her brothers Magnus and Ralph providing the music and starring, respectively.

Video

The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is excellent, dealing flawlessly with the different colour palettes, from the stark white of the Aylesbury house, to the scenes in London and the Scottish countryside.

Audio

As with the video, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very clear and, should you want them, there are English HoH subtitles available.

Extra Features

The only selectable feature is the theatrical trailer, but the menu is preceded by a skippable trailer for Chapter 27, if that counts.

Conclusion

Chromophobia is one of those titles that sound pretentious but, as it refers to a pretentious 'art' installation that Iona buys, it can just about be forgiven. The scenario, of the unravelling of a perfect bourgeois existence, showing what goes on behind the facade and behind closed doors, has been done before - and done better - in such films as Happiness and Blue Velvet.

After the first half hour or so, I really didn't care about the film or the characters, but as the plot threads started to converge and the film began to focus, so did my attention. By the end, I still didn't care about any of the characters because they are all horrible people, with the exception of Rhys Ifans' social worker and Gloria.

Whilst not the most accomplished film of its type, Chromophobia is an interesting film and a comment on the destructive nature of money, power and greed in today's Britain.