Blu-ray Review – T.R. Baskin

In 1971, Herbert Ross was building a name for himself as a director, scoring respected hits in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" and "The Owl and the Pussycat," showing his stuff with drama and comedy. Instead of going bigger with his projects, Ross aims for something considerably smaller with "T.R. Baskin," teaming with screenwriter Peter Hyams for a character study that toys with time and tone, following the acidic ways of a young woman slowly recognizing her isolation and emotional detachment after making a move to Chicago. Hyams (who would go on to an iffy helming career of his own) throws a lot of feelings and attitudes into this endeavor, but he mostly remains on casual cruelty, which is an interesting topic for nuanced writing. "T.R. Baskin" has stinging moments of personal reflection, but Ross seems a little befuddled by the whole thing, working to make character connections stick, but he's less attentive to the overall mood of the picture, which remains in a weird gray area that's not particularly satisfying to watch, often resembling a theatrical production where close proximity to actors is the selling point, not the story itself. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com