DVD Sleuth: Gwen Blu-ray Disc Review

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Gwen (2018)

RLJE Films

Blu-ray Disc Released: 10/8/2019

All Ratings out of

Movie: 1/2

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Review by Mike Long, Posted on 10/15/2019

Unless you know absolutely nothing about a movie, it’s nearly impossible to watch a film and not have some sort of expectations. Be it a trailer, a poster, cover art, or a review that you’ve read, in most cases, you know something about a movie and this, in even the smallest way, can color the way in which you approach the viewing experience. (One of the greatest parts of reviewing home video is checking out little-known films and every now and then finding a diamond in the rough.) As stated, our opinions are often influenced by the advertising which accompanies a movie, be that a complete synopsis of the film or even something as insignificant as the genre under which a movie is filed. It’s that latter element which was involved in the movie Gwen and an example of how misinformation can lead to misplaced prejudice.

Set in the 19 Century in rural Wales, Gwen follows the tumultuous life of the titular character (Eleanor Worthington-Cox). Gwen, an earnest teenager, lives with her mother, Elen (Maxine Peake), and her younger sister, Mari (Jodie Innes). As her father is away in the war (Which war is never clear), Gwen, Elen, and Mari must tend to the farm, tending the sheep and growing vegetables. Their bleak existence consists of work on the farm, attending church, and selling their goods at the market, in an attempt to scrape by. When Elen falls ill, the pressure of keeping things going falls on Gwen. But, she soon learns that the local men, especially the landowners who run the quarry, aren’t very nice and haven no mercy, even for a child.

The 1950s and 1960s saw a time when hucksters ran wild with movie promotions, especially with horror and science-fiction films. Everything was the biggest and best and movies were touted as being “new” and “daring” and “like nothing you’ve never seen before”. These wild exaggerations were often inaccurate, but at least the movie advertised was what the public got. Those ad-men would have loved what’s been done with Gwen. In short, Gwen, or at least this home video release, is being marketed as a horror movie. For starters, this is presented as “A Shudder Original”. If you aren’t familiar with Shudder, it’s a streaming platform which specializes in horror movies. The cover art shows a shadowy figure showing a cross and the copy the bottom reads, “The Dark Outside is Calling For Her”. Ooh, creepy. The text on the back of the box is fairly accurate, save for the last line, which states “as a malevolent presence begins to take grip of her home, it becomes apparent there is a greater evil that may be too strong to overcome.” Wow, that sounds really creepy. But, that doesn’t happen.

In reality, Gwen is pretty much a straight-forward period piece. This is a story of a down-trodden family which cannot catch a break. The females are having to run the farm. They can’t sell enough of their vegetables, someone sabotages their livestock, and Elen is ill. These are poor peasants who are scraping by in the pre-industrial age. The local quarry runs things in the region and lower-caste farmers don’t stand a chance, especially when the man of the house is away. The film is beautifully-shot, as it captures the Welsh landscape, and the acting is top-notch, especially Eleanor Worthington-Cox, who is asked to carry the movie.

I guess that we could debate about the definition of a horror film, but I don’t think that Gwen will meet many people’s terms. There are certainly many horrific things which occur in the movie and the vast majority of it is quite depressing, but the supernatural horrors suggested by the cover art never arrive. If you can go into Gwen with the understanding that it’s not horror, but more like something one would see on Masterpiece Theater, you’ll have a much better chance of enjoying it. This is a solid film which does a great job of essaying just how life difficult was in the past, and it does a great job of telling its story. If you can tolerate the bleak atmosphere of the movie and you like serious period pieces, then Gwen is worth checking out.

Gwen implies that Wales was very woke in the past courtesy of RLJ Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 23 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no notable grain and no defects from the source materials. The colors look very good, most notably the green countryside, and the image is never overly dark or bright (although it does border on dark at times). The level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects and the depth works well, giving a great look to the landscape shots. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Despite the relatively low bitrate, we get good sound here. The stereo effects do a great job of highlighting sounds coming from off-screen and the surround effects come into play when Gwen is crossing the countryside. The track is well-balanced, as the score doesn’t overpower the other audio.

The Gwen Blu-ray Disc contains a few extra features. “An Interview with Maxine Peake” (12 minutes) allows the actress who plays Elen a chance to talk about her character and her experiences on the film. Likewise, “An Interview with Eleanor Worthington-Cox” (9 minutes) gives Gwen herself the opportunity to share her thoughts on being the lead in the movie. The extras are rounded out by two “Photo Galleries”.