Review of Extremities

Introduction

I like Farrah Fawcett. Ever since Charlie`s Angels and The Cannonball Run I found myself being a teenage fan with a teenage crush. I first saw Extremities eons ago on VHS when it first came out but didn`t have anything in the way of lasting impressions when this DVD came along.

Based on a play of the same name, Extremities focuses on Farrah Fawcett as a victim of sexual assault who`s attacker comes back to finish the job he started. He knows where she lives and Fawcett struggles against her assailant. It`s when things turn against him that she`s got to decide what she`s going to do and she`s in no fit state to make rational decisions.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, it has a slightly better than average transfer. The colours look well balanced with a decent amount of detail. There`s quite a bit of dirt around but it`s not distracting.

Audio

This comes with a DD2.0 audio track. Extremities is mainly a dialogue driven movie and not a home theatre tester, so what`s here works well. Dialogue is clear and the ambient sound and music of the 80s is spread well across the front. No real use of the surrounds though. There are German, French, Spanish and Italian DD2.0 soundtracks too.

Features

Static menus with an average theatrical trailer with voiceover man. In addition to this there are a dozen subtitle options.

Conclusion

The thrust of the main story takes place in one location, Fawcett`s shared house, where Russo comes by after stealing her wallet from an earlier assault. This is where their characters start to show themselves and the remaining 65-minutes resembles the play this story is based on. There are some well-used camera angles heightening the tension and even though you know roughly where the story is going, it`s still intriguing to see to the end. You can never tell from Fawcett`s fragile state-of-mind what she`ll do after the cat-and-mouse games and once she gains the upper hand, it`s a question of what she`s going to do with him that you wonder about. How far will/can she go?

Fawcett plays the part of a vulnerable and angry woman well using her likeability to strengthen her character. James Russo playing the obnoxious aggressor has his part down well too even when it comes down to whining when the tables are turned on him. Written by William Mastrosimone and based on his play, one of the problems I found in this story is that we never get to understand the menace behind Russo`s character. What`s his motivation to do what he`s doing? For someone so aggressive, he confesses all too easily to attacking other women when confronted with Fawcett and a hunting knife. He becomes a shadow of his former self and seeks pity. This last part isn`t as believable as it could have been and adds to a limp ending in this victim/victor story.

All said and done, the film starts out with promise, but it struggles to find a satisfying conclusion. While I enjoyed Fawcett and Russo`s performances, Extremities is a TV movie and might be rented on a slow night.