Of course this would be more bearable if the film were closed captioned, but the version that ran on Sundance this week was not. I'd hastily drop the level, then some poor soul on the screen would start mouthing silent words again. I'd get the voices to a volume level that allowed me to make out the words, then the music would crash in and wake my companion. In fact, I don't recall ever before having to ride the levels during the entire length of a movie, never letting go of the remote for its entire length. The music swelled over the voices, the voices fought the ambiance, and the man who spoke in the lowest register forced me to crank up the volume every time he spoke. I found just the opposite, with poorly-mastered sound all but ruining the film for me. I'm stunned to see an earlier review specify that 'Pageant' is 'well done, in all technical elements'.
