Stone: Blu-ray (2010)

Almost every thing you will read about Stone will have something to do with the teaming of Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton. Though they're two of the finest dramatic actors of the last 50 years, neither one is immune to making a stinker (Hide and Seek, Righteous Kill for DeNiro,  Pride and Glory for Norton). I wouldn't go so far as to call Stone a bad movie but it's certainly not going to be a crowning achievement for either actor.

Norton plays the title character, Gerald "Stone" Creeseon, who is serving time for arson and has recently converted to a unnamed religion. His attempts to get an early parole involve him playing a set of mind games on correctional officer Jack Mabry (DeNiro) while using his wife (Mila Jovovich) as a form of enticement. Choices are made, consequences unfold and that's about it.

Stone is a pretty small scale film. There are no giant set pieces and even the performances are understated. All three leads play their parts very well. I was a little thrown by Norton's prison accent right away but ultimately it worked very well. DeNiro plays his role in a much more subdued manner than a majority of his most recent performances and it's a welcome sight. Jovovich holds her own against the two in a femme fatale role. Unfortunately director James Curren really wants Stone to be a major philosophical thought piece and jams numerous religious themes down the viewers throat. This type of thing can be very effective when done well but here it seems to lack focus. It's obvious that Curren does not wish to tell you what to think and I applaud him for that but those themes never click enough to successfully allow the viewer to make those decisions. Stone just doesn't achieve the sort of lofty goals that I'm sure everyone making the film had in mind. 

The blu-ray is perfectly acceptable but nothing that will blow you away. The picture quality is solid and clean while the audio is almost entirely dialogue based and always understandable. Stone just isn't the type of movie that's going to be a demo for anyone's home theater.

How much enjoyment a person takes away from Stone is going to be entirely up to them. The acting is great but the characters, story, religious themes and the lack of a definitive purpose won't appeal to everyone. The blu-ray is solid as well but I'd hardly call it a must own film.

Ratings:

Movie - 3/5

Blu-ray - 3/5