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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Gia
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Sharon
Spiller |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Aspect
4:3 |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Surround (English language track only) |
| Language: |
English
(Dolby surround), French (stereo) & Spanish (mono) |
| Subtitle: |
English,
French & Spanish |
| Length: |
120
minutes |
| Rating: |
R
|
| Release
Date: |
7-18-00
|
| Studio: |
HBO
Pictures |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
For
all major actors as well as director/writer Michael Cristofer
& co-writer Jay McInerney |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
Photo
Gallery |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Angelina
Jolie, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kylie Travis, Mercedes Ruehl & Faye
Dunaway |
| Screenplay
by: |
Written By:
Jay McInerney & Michael Cristofer |
| Produced
by: |
James D. Brubaker |
| Directed
By: |
Michael Cristofer
|
| Music: |
Terence Blanchard |
| The
Review: |
In
the modeling world, Gia Carangi was the very first woman to
be known by the term super model. She had everything she could
have ever wanted. Looks, wealth, power and prestige. But that
wasn’t enough to save her from heroin addiction and an early
death at the age of 26 from AIDS. This movie, despite certain
liberties with events, does a very good job of portraying the
life of the once famous model. Cristofer chooses to tell the
story in flashback by interspersing documentary style interviews
in which the actors talk directly to the camera. Rather then
seeming excessive, it blends very well into the overall feel
of the film. Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of Gia is a powerful
one and absolutely riveting. Her performance is further enhanced
by a very strong supporting cast. Mercedes Ruehl, as the complex
and frustrating Kathleen Sperr; Faye Dunaway as the shrewd and
calculating Wilhelmina Cooper, and Elizabeth Mitchell as the
optimistic and idealistic love interest flesh out the story
and go a long way toward making this an enjoyable, if somewhat
predictable, film. |
| Image
and Sound |
Because
this film was made for cable television, clarity of picture
and crispness of sound is somewhat lacking. In a word, it can
be summed up as ordinary. The imagery seems rather flat and
dull, for the exception of one scene in which Jolie is wearing
a vibrant red dress and lipstick. It is in such contrast to
everything else in the scene that it seems rather excessive
and it turns into a distraction. This is not a film that lends
itself well to surround sound and there is no noticeable difference
that it’s even there on the English language track. The transfer
itself would have been greatly improved by cleaning up the slight
grainy texture of the picture and enhancing the sound. Unfortunately,
this is nothing more then a typical cable movie transferred
to DVD for those individuals who prefer discs to videos. |
| The
Extras |
For a movie
as interesting as this one, the extra features contained on
this DVD might as well be nonexistent. The cast and crew bios
have the potential for being interesting and informative, but
the format in which they are presented leaves a great deal to
be desired. Shown in word format, the bios do nothing more than
list the actors film repertoire with little background information
on the actors themselves. It also has the appearance of having
been hurriedly put together for the release of the DVD. The
only other extra feature this DVD edition has is a photo gallery
comprised of still shots of Angelina Jolie in her role as Gia.
Rather than adding anything, it again seems as if it was put
in place to add to the DVD’s list of special features. The photos
seem rather redundant after having viewed the film and really
do nothing to sell the movie to viewers. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
Although
liberties were taken with certain events from Gia Carangi’s
life, on the whole, this was a well done film. It would have
benefitted greatly from some added features, however. Cristofer
could have opened the viewer’s eyes a lot wider if he had added
several actual interviews conducted by Carangi while she was
still alive. It would have been an added bonus for the viewer
if they had been given the opportunity to compare and contrast
Cristofer’s portrayal of her in this manner. A documentary on
her life would have also been great for those viewers who would
like to have known more about the woman he chose to bring to
the screen, albeit the small one. If you’re wanting a completely
accurate telling of the life of Gia Carangi, this may not be
what you’re looking for. But if you’re looking for good entertainment
based (for the most part) on actual fact, this may just fit
the bill. |
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