Into The Woods (PG.)
Directed by Rob Marshall.
Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendricks, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp. 124 mins
As this it is the first review of the New Year let's, just this once, start with a straightforward, to the point, summation: Into the Woods is a great musical given a pedestrian film treatment. The quality of the source material just about triumphs over the handling.
Into The Woods is a Stephen Sondheim musical (his music and lyrics, book by James Lapine) which means you'll probably have a fairly clear notion of what to expect and whether it is something you'll welcome it up your street. If you're unfamiliar, it's the kind of talky singy musical style of Les Miserables but with a wider variety of tunes and sprightly lyrics that are worth listening to. The story is a fairy tale mixtape of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel that examines, questions and celebrates the function of myths and storytelling. It is smart and witty to an almost clever clever degree but what keeps it from becoming smarty pants annoying is its humility and poignancy in dealing with the limitation of art to really deliver happy endings.
Rob (Chicago) Marshall takes this legend of the Broadway and plonks it down in the set of a low budget British costume drama and a glorified pantomime wood. If you've never had anything nice to say about Tim Burton you may when you compare this with his vision of another Sondheim classic, Sweeney Todd, which was arguably a more challenging piece to bring to the big screen. To be fair, a lot of the difference may be down more to Burton's ability to loosen purse strings rather than any failings of Rob (Chicago) Marshall. This doesn't look like any more cash was spent on it than was absolutely essential.
The cast is a transatlantic mix and max. While Jack is a played as a London street urchin fresh from the cast of Oliver! Little Red Riding Hood is full-on American child actress precociousness. They're an odd selection but they make it work. This wide ranging cast sing with a single voice: everybody perfroms in a homogenized Broadway style. Competent, but slightly anonymous. The only variation is Johnny Depp's brief appearance as the Big Bad Wolf, which he seems to play in the style of Terry-Thomas.
Into The Woods (PG.)
Directed by Rob Marshall.
Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendricks, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp. 124 mins
As this it is the first review of the New Year let's, just this once, start with a straightforward, to the point, summation: Into the Woods is a great musical given a pedestrian film treatment. The quality of the source material just about triumphs over the handling.
Into The Woods is a Stephen Sondheim musical (his music and lyrics, book by James Lapine) which means you'll probably have a fairly clear notion of what to expect and whether it is something you'll welcome it up your street. If you're unfamiliar, it's the kind of talky singy musical style of Les Miserables but with a wider variety of tunes and sprightly lyrics that are worth listening to. The story is a fairy tale mixtape of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel that examines, questions and celebrates the function of myths and storytelling. It is smart and witty to an almost clever clever degree but what keeps it from becoming smarty pants annoying is its humility and poignancy in dealing with the limitation of art to really deliver happy endings.
Rob (Chicago) Marshall takes this legend of the Broadway and plonks it down in the set of a low budget British costume drama and a glorified pantomime wood. If you've never had anything nice to say about Tim Burton you may when you compare this with his vision of another Sondheim classic, Sweeney Todd, which was arguably a more challenging piece to bring to the big screen. To be fair, a lot of the difference may be down more to Burton's ability to loosen purse strings rather than any failings of Rob (Chicago) Marshall. This doesn't look like any more cash was spent on it than was absolutely essential.
The cast is a transatlantic mix and max. While Jack is a played as a London street urchin fresh from the cast of Oliver! Little Red Riding Hood is full-on American child actress precociousness. They're an odd selection but they make it work. This wide ranging cast sing with a single voice: everybody perfroms in a homogenized Broadway style. Competent, but slightly anonymous. The only variation is Johnny Depp's brief appearance as the Big Bad Wolf, which he seems to play in the style of Terry-Thomas.
