Little Voice (1998)

Based off of the play "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice", Mark Herman's movie tells the story of a painfully shy girl named LV (Little Voice) who holds big, big talent. All in all this is a loud movie, a predictable one, and one that is neither funny nor moving, but it does feature a phenomenally good lead who holds big, big talent herself.

You may know Jane Horrocks from the hit British television comedy "Absolutely Fabulous"--she plays Eddie's baffoonish secretary, Bubble. Nothing in that role really gave the flavor of what exactly Horrocks is capable of, but here she gets a chance not to shine, but to knock you off of your feet. Her character, LV, is a mousy, squeaky, imp of a girl who is constantly under the barrage of verbally abusive, titanic mother (Brenda Blethyn). Little Voice has no friends except her impressive record collection handed down to her by her late father. All day long LV lives vicariously through her idols, finding quiet in her music.

One day a talent agent, Ray Say (Michael Caine), overhears LV singing and discovers that the next big thing in live entertainment is a girl who can barely say her own name. LV can sing, she can sang, she can blow like nobody's business. What's more, she (and therefore Horrocks) is an amazing impressionist, able to do Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, an uncanny Judy Garland and several others.

Of course there is going to be a story of Ray Say trying to get her to sing live which will be met with LV's crippling shyness, though it will finally be overcome and she will give her knockout performance. And then there will be trouble with her overcompensating, obnoxious mother, a love story with an equally unusual boy (Ewan McGregor), and an ultimate success, though I'll leave that for you to discover. All in all it's pretty flat.

That is until the end. The climax--after the showstopper--is bizarre and ultimately unsatisfying, as there are unusual and uncomfortable changes in character, and several questions that are never fully answered. Michael Caine's character is particularly bizarre, though it was an ugly and troubling performance to begin with.

I did not like this film. It is meant to be about little eccentrics in a little town who try and find a better place for themselves. It was, however, a fairly uninteresting story full of odious characters. That is, of course, when you aren't watching Horrocks be amazing. Close your eyes when you listen to her perform and you'll swear you were listening to the real thing. I was curious how the stage production could have been put on when basically everything rests on one woman being an outstanding impressionist. I figured that the film could not have been made unless the idea were pitched with Horrocks in mind. As for the play, I guess they would simply dub the music. The movie makes a special point at the end of letting us know that she did all of her own songs, but listening to her sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" with all of Marilyn's smolder, I swear you could have fooled me.

I expect that there are plenty of YouTube clips of just Horrocks singing. Bag the film, watch the clips, and pick your jaw up off of the floor afterwards.

1.5/4