The Shape of Things

Director: Neil LaBute Neil LaBute

Overview

"Neil LaBute's adaptation of his stage play +The Shape of Things comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by LaBute and lead actor Paul Rudd. The two have an easy camaraderie that is engaging and are obviously proud of the work they did on the film, so much so that they occasionally lash out at specific reviewers and what they wrote about the movie. A short featurette in which LaBute discusses how the project moved from the stage to the screen has been included, as has a short, but funny, promotional film entitled ""Welcome to Mercy College."" The theatrical trailer rounds out this strong release from Universal."

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2003
UPC:	0025192281327
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	R
Source:	Focus Features
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00

Special Features

Closed Caption;Feature commentary with director Neil LaBute and Paul Rudd; "The Shape of Things from stage to screen" featurette ; "Welcome to Mercy College" promotional film; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gretchen Mol	Jenny
Paul Rudd	Adam
Rachel Weisz	Evelyn
Frederick Weller	Phillip
Elvis Costello	Composer

Technical Credits

Neil LaBute

Rachel Weisz	Producer
Tim Bevan	Executive Producer
Charlie Brewer	Stunts
Eric Fellner	Executive Producer
Neil LaBute	Producer,Screenwriter,Director
Gail Mutrux	Producer
Philip Steuer	Producer
Fiona Weir	Casting
Richard Yawn	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Those who respond to Neil LaBute's distinct voice will savor all of the meaty dialogue in the exchanges between the four characters in The Shape of Things. Having performed the play together on-stage, all of the actors are very comfortable with LaBute's style. The foursome's ease with the characters and the dialogue is evident, helping sell some of the more implausible passages in the story. LaBute has grown steadily as a director. While In the Company of Men felt like the first film that it was, The Shape of Things shows that LaBute understands when to move the camera and how to edit for maximum effectiveness. The static camera that dominated his earliest films seemed to indicate unease with the process of making film images. His confidence both behind the camera and in editing has grown to the point that now, when he keeps the camera in place for an extended period, one senses a purpose for the decision. Because he wants nothing to get in the way of the words, he treats the actors well in the frame. He respects his performers, and they respond by finding reservoirs of repellency which they might not have otherwise tapped. Rachel Weisz is riveting as the manipulative Evelyn, whose motivation provides the type of concluding emotional whammy that LaBute favors. Paul Rudd communicates the emotional and psychological toll Adam's ugly-duckling transformation takes on him, while never abandoning the character's essential goodness (or dorkiness). Although this film is about surfaces and image, the final exchange between Evelyn and Adam hinges emotionally on words -- not just the dialogue the characters exchange, but on words the characters have shared that are kept secret from the audience. That the emotional thrust of the film comes down to the spoken word is proof that LaBute is at heart a playwright. He has learned the shape and the form of filmmaking, but he is a person who responds first and foremost to language. For this reason alone, The Shape of Things is quintessential Neil LaBute.

“LaBute meticulously plans that the shocking, climatic revelations should cast dark light upon his apparently average people.” —Nicholas de Jongh, The Standard

“LaBute's great gift is to live in and to chronicle that murky area of not knowing, which mankind spends much of its waking life denying.” —John Lahr, The New Yorker

“A piece whose intricate layers of treachery are worthy of David Mamet.” —Paul Taylor, The Independent

From the Publisher