Small quirky comedy thrillers such as Drowning Mona are one of the things that American cinema does best and far too rarely. Peter Steinfeld's appealing script attracted a solid cast of stars under the direction of newcomer Nick Gomez (whose previous work includes episodes of The Sopranos). It seems that someone has cut Mona's brake cables and she drove to her death by drowning. Bette Midler's Mona manages to make it entirely plausible that almost everyone might have wanted to kill her: from her son's business partner Eddie (Casey Affleck) to her husband's mistress Rona (Jamie Lee Curtis). The local police chief (Danny DeVito), already burdened with subordinates who refer to running away from danger as "securing the perimeter" and the impending marriage of his daughter (Neve Campbell) to the sweet but unreliable Eddie, has to make sense of the farrago of lies and half-truths which is all anyone will tell him. This is an ingenious tightly plotted film which is never too busy to scatter odd little gags at its margins; it's a tall tale, whose complicated telling is half the fun.
On the DVD The DVD comes with the theatrical trailer, a director's commentary, interviews with the stars and four deleted scenes. The picture is 1.85:1 anamorphic and the sound is Dolby Surround. --Roz Kaveney
Release Date: May 20, 2002 Audio:
Dolby Surround
Video:
4:3
Features:
Scene Selection Theatrical Trailer Directors Commentary Behind The Scenes Featurette Deleted Scenes With Directors Commentary Talent Files Interactive Menus Interviews With Stars
Movie Database
DVD Home
Buy this DVD on Amazon.co.uk
Buy this DVD on Amazon.co.uk