Little Voice

Mark Herman's follow-up to 'Brassed Off' is another affectionate look at working class English life, although without that film's heart and anger. Instead, it's largely an opportunity for a gallery of British acting talent to enjoy themselves, with Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn all outrageous in their roles. Surprisingly, Jane Horrocks, the ostensible star, has a smaller role than might have been expected, although it's hard to think of anyone else who could have pulled off the part. 'Little Voice' is not entirely coherent, a fairy tale without the ending, but it is wholly distinctive and in places very funny. One of a kind.

An absorbing, fanciful, and sometimes astonishing film, Little Voice is a modern fairy tale that owes a bit to both pop psychology and, of all things, the musical Annie. The film thrusts us into the peculiarly flawed world of a young woman still living in her childhood home. Her nickname, LV (Little Voice) is pronounced in her mother's thick, northern English accent as "Elvie." In fact, her chief problem is her caustic mother, played with tragicomic skill by Brenda Blethyn, who received an Oscar nomination for the role.

Blethyn's Mrs. Hoff is in many ways like the awful Miss Hannigan of Annie's orphanage, who, were it not for the story's overall comic mood, would be overwhelmingly evil. Instead, Blethyn invests the role with a horny rowdiness that helps dilute Mrs. Hoff's self-absorption and cruelty. LV, in response, confines herself to her tidy, attic bedroom in her mother's otherwise cluttered house.

Though the timid and virtually silent LV lacks Annie's cheerful spunk, both yearn for their absent parents-LV for her dead father, who appears to her, soundless and gentle, whenever she is frightened.

But what LV usually does in response to her mother's constant stream of verbal abuse and generally noisy demeanor is to play her father's cherished record collection at top volume. It is in the voices of the women on the records that LV communicates with her mother and most other people. Though Jane Horrocks says little in the title role, when LV does make noise, it is in remarkable, pitch-perfect imitation of these women, namely, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, and even Marilyn Monroe. At first, I was convinced that this was a lip-synch, but Horrocks changes the tempo and inflection to match LV's mood. Indeed, the first thing that appears in the credits at the conclusion of Little Voice is a note that Horrocks sang all of LV's vocal performances. Wow.

Little Voice will remind American audiences of the recent trend in British cinema that embraces down-on-their-luck characters from the UK's industrial north and the shuns the charmless folk who populate Merchant-Ivory-esque period dramas. Little Voice's characters reminded me of both the pitiable unemployed steelworkers of The Full Monty and the rotten Scottish heroin addicts of Trainspotting. Michael Caine combines these comic and serious elements into a convincing performance as Ray, the seedy promoter who wishes to cash in on LV's extraordinary gift. Caine is the foxy Honest John to LV's Pinocchio, and typifies the sense of desperate amorality such characters face when they have pawned their goods and their limbs in order to bankroll a reckless scheme.

With its quirky characterizations and working-class English setting, Little Voice may not be for everyone, but the film's story is timeless, the performances are energetic, and Horrocks's singing might just knock you out of your seat. Little Voice is a truly gratifying film.

A slightly twisted film about a brutally shy young lady (LV), an overbearing cliche come to life mother, a slime ball agent and (of course) a slightly odd, yet kind hero(?) figure played by none other than Ewen McGregor, Little Voice is well worth the rental fee.

This movie is absurd, dark, funny, dramatic and at times heart wrenching. A little compassion will get you a long way towards enjoying it. The roles are played very well by talented actors, engrossing you in their turbulent little world.

If you like your films off the wall, this is the movie for you. If you prefer only mainstream Hollywood stuff, stay away!

Summary:

This is the story of a painfully shy girl who takes comfort escaping the harsh world of her overbearing mother by enclosing herself in a world of music. The peace she finds while playing her late father's records is the only world she's at home in. She sings the songs to her father's memory with an unbelievable ability to capture not just the voices of artists such as Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, and Marilyn Monroe but also the tone, the passion and the quality that made them legends. This ability is overheard by a talent agent who sees fortune in her voice. He tries to rip her out of her private world and force her into the terrifying spot light.

My Opinion:

I watched this film and was amazed. The characters of LV (Jane Horrocks) and Billy (Ewan McGregor) are just so adorable that you love them from the moment they are on screen. The performances of all the supporting players are good but the performance of Jane Horrocks is amazing. It's the kind of performance awards were created to celebrate, but got no where near the kind of recognition it deserved. Hardly saying anything throughout the first part of the film she communicates so much through her eyes and expressions. Then when she sings she does not just 'mimic' the voices of legends but proves she is a legend in her own right.

This is a wonderful film that showcases not only the music, but also a full roster of powerful performances. Every one is excellent, but it's the two most subtle of them all that steal the show.

Jane Horrocks has proven that she can be so much more than Bubbles, the airheaded secretary from AbFab. She's more than a match for every other powerful actor on the screen, and considering her co-stars that's quite an accomplishment. Her chemistry with the wonderful Ewan McGregor is remarkable; the story of their characters could have made a gentle, beautiful love story on its own, but as it is, their attraction gives hope for both of these gentle, quiet characters. I would've liked to see more attention paid to McGregor's character, but that could simply be because where McGregor is concerned, there can't really ever be enough.

Michael Caine is deserving of his Golden Globe. Showy as his role undeniably is, he never pushes it too far. This performance is another example of his versatility and his formidable onstage presence.

Brenda Blethyn has become one of my favourite actors since I saw Secrets & Lies; here again, she's a wrecked mother who lives in a dream world, but with added layers of violence and neglect toward her only child. She can speak volumes with her thickly-shadowed black eyes and an omnipresent cigarette. We never get the full story on her relationship with her late husband, LV's beloved father, but the tension and the words unsaid are brought to a boil in a key scene between Blethyn and Horrocks.

Come Oscar time, it would be wonderful to see Little Voice get some recognition.