Marina Antunes [DVD News 07.30.12]



Director Zack Parker has been toiling away at movie making for a few years but last year's release of Scalene caught the attention of many a media outlet and rightfully so as it overshadows its indie roots to deliver a solid thriller which is carefully developed to produce the most bang for its buck.

Scalene is one of those films that is best seen without much pre-amble. Part of the joy is watching the story carefully unfold, twisting and turning facts and expectations. This could easily have been a relatively straight forward story of right and wrong but Parker, who also edited the film, maximizes the story's strengths by carefully revealing information, forcing the audience to constantly re-evaluate the situation, expanding Scalene from a simple tale of right and wrong to one full of greys and questioning pre-conceptions.


Margo Martindale stars as Janice, and Hanna Hall as Paige, two women whose main concern is the well being of Jakob. They each think they know what's right for him and at each turn, it seems as though one and then the other is "right," but as the story develops, it's clear that both women are making their choices from half gleamed bits of information and occasionally, miss guided pre-conceptions.

Each of the women make choices and take actions that seem ill advised but Paige's ultimate sacrifice is by far the most shocking and though it's admirable that she feels such responsibility for Jakob that she will go to any lengths to help him, we quickly begin to question if her plan is the best course of action. At first it's not clear exactly what her plan is but as the scene slowly unfolds and we begin to grasp the details, every moment that goes on brings with it a feeling that she'll back off and not go through with it. Yet the scene continues to develop and when the reality of the situation finally sinks in, there's a feeling of being removed from the details of the situation because the audience already knows what happened; we've already seen the aftermath and what it brings.

A lesser film would have lost some of its punch with the unconventional storytelling but Parker knows this story and the emotions it elicits so well that playing with the timeline and unfolding of events adds intrigue without sacrificing the film's effectiveness. If anything, Scalene benefits from its structure which adds a layer of depth to the story and forces the audience to actively participate in the film, taking in each scene and piecing the mosaic together to form the larger picture.

Scalene doesn't hold back: it's occasionally violent, emotionally draining and at times even shocking. What's best, it is also a movie that begs to be seen again, to be discussed and dissected and argued over. It really is a must see.

Scalene is available on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, July 31st.

DVD Extras: Release includes a making of featurette, theatrical and teaser trailer and Q&A and Awards Ceremony from Dances with Films.

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