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Little Voice (1998)

Little Voice (1998)

A timid girl finds her voice in this interesting, though uneven, musical drama

6.9

Movie

United Kingdom
English
Comedy, Drama, Music
1998
MARK HERMAN
Adam Fogerty, Alex Norton, Annette Badland
97 min

TLDR

Hollywood, please, please, please consider remaking this film. There’s a gem here that just needs to be polished, and it could be the perfect launching point for whoever can match or surpass Jane Horrocks.

What it's about

After the death of her father, Little Voice, or “LV”, has become a recluse– neglected by her mother Mari, never going outside her room, hardly ever saying a word, only to listen to her father’s collection of great female singers. At nighttime, however, LV sings, mimicking their voices with surprising ease, which leads to Mari’s latest squeeze and talent agent Ray Say to push her to perform at the local nightclub.

The take

There’s a few issues that keep Little Voice from becoming a musical classic. For one, the characterization of Laura’s antagonists– her mother Mari and Mari’s boyfriend Ray Say– are a bit all over the place. Ray Say seems a bit too nice to be a manipulative talent agent, while the film never truly contemplates what brought Mari to neglect Laura the way she does. Secondly, when they lament over Laura wasting her musical talents, it’s a bit ludicrous, considering they also waste Ewan McGregor’s musical talents as well. But seeing Jane Horrocks meekly go through her days, to suddenly blurt out incredible mimic performances, is what makes us want to root for Little Voice and finally see her shine. It’s just a shame that the writing and characterization isn’t as tight as it could be.

What stands out

Jane Horrocks. The entire film wouldn’t have worked without her.

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