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James Corden and Meryl Streep in the strangely flat Into the Woods |
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Meryl Streep (The Witch), Emily Blunt (The Baker’s
Wife), James Corden (The Baker), Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Chris Pine
(Cinderella’s Prince), Tracey Ullman (Jack’s Mother), Christine Baranski (Cinderella’s
Mother), Johnny Depp (The Big Bad Wolf), Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding
Hood), Daniel Huttlestone (Jack), Mackenzie Mauzy (Rapunzel), Billy Magnussen
(Rapunzel’s Prince), Tammy Blanchard (Florinda), Lucy Punch (Lucinda), Frances
de la Tour (Giant’s Wife), Simon Russell Beale (Baker’s Father)
Musicals are big box office. Everyone has a side of
themselves that enjoys the razzmatazz of song and dance numbers. In the world
of the musical, Stephen Sondheim is often seen as the pinnacle of musical
master craftsmen – and for years, studios had tried to bring Into the Woods, his musical reimagining
of fairy tales, to the big screen. Was it worth it? Um, possibly not.
A baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are
desperate to have a child. A witch (Meryl Streep) claims she has cursed them
after the baker’s father (Simon Russell Beale) stole magic beans from her
garden. She will lift the curse in return for four items she can use to lift a
curse on her – a milk white cow, a red coat, a glass slipper and some golden
hair. Well if you know anything about fairy tales it won’t take you long to
figure out which tales we are going to be heading into with that list – and
sure enough Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford),
Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) and Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy) all make appearances.
But here the happy ending comes half way through the story – how will the
characters deal with the impact of their choices when they have to face the consequences
of their actions?
Okay I’m going to be honest, Into the Woods left me a little cold as just a musical. I didn’t
really get into any of the numbers as they were playing, and the basic
storyline is an odd combo: half satire, half social commentary on the dangers
of getting what you want at all costs. I mean that’s clever stuff, and some big
themes, but the movie certainly seems to wear them very heavily. And the movie
also fails to make the musical sections engaging or inspiring – instead they are
rather leadenly staged with very little real vibrancy or joy.
What’s already a rather disengaging musical isn’t helped by
Rob Marshall’s leaden direction, which positions each scene with a flatness
where the actors get lost in the wide screen and murky set design. Into the Woods is an astonishingly
boring film to look at, murky and dimly lit, mistaking lighting (or lack of it)
for mood. Every single scene is dingy and poorly framed, with events occurring
in front of the viewer but never really getting engaging or interesting. Nothing strikes you interest.
It becomes a film that really isn’t that interesting to
watch. This is despite some very strong efforts from nearly all the cast. Meryl
Streep inevitably captured most of the praise as the Witch, and she is good,
but there is something a little too artificial about her performance for my
taste, something not quite heartfelt. But Emily Blunt is very good (and an excellent
singer as well – who knew!) as the Baker’s wife, full of humanity and warmth.
Chris Pine brings some excellent comic timing to the impossibly vain and preening
Prince. There are plenty of other good moments as well, as most of the cast
throw themselves into it.
But these moments keep getting lost in sequences that just
aren’t interesting. For every amusing sing-off between the two princes on a waterfall,
or moment of genuine warmth and charm between the baker and his wife, we get
sequences of unbearable smugness (principally Johnny Depp’s appalling
look-at-me cameo as the Big Bad Wolf). British character actors abound all over
the place, but most have virtually nothing to do. In addition, the violence and
horror elements of the original musical – as the cast deal with the terrible
consequences of their actions and turn on each other – are toned down
considerably.
In fact, as leading characters start dying left, right and
centre, it’s not really shocking enough (as the darkness of their fates is
skirted around), as Marshall’s camera meekly turns away from anything that might cause a fraction of
upset. Wasn’t the whole point of fairy tales – and I suppose the original
musical – to deal with both the darkness and the light? Why make such a dark
musical and then try and force it into being a 12A rating? Why make a movie
that tackles dark themes and then shy away from them as often as possible?
It’s part of the slightly incoherent mood of Into the Woods – it never really clicks.
It doesn’t really offer much to enjoy: the musical numbers (after the opening
title number) are pretty unengaging, and they are filmed with a dull
unimaginativeness. Despite the money spent on it, the film looks really cheap.
While there are a couple of good performances, others – like Anna Kendrick –
are trying a little too hard. It’s a story that is supposed to be about the
dark heart of fairy tales, and how reality after a happy ending often isn’t as
jolly as we think it is – instead it’s a story that never really feels like it’s
about anything.
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