Director: Rob Marshall.
Cast: James Corden, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Mackenzie Mauzy, Lilla Crawford, Billy Magnussen, Daniel Huttlestone, Lucy Punch, Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchard, Tracey Ullman.
Certificate: PG
Running Time: 124 minutes
Synopsis: A childless baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt), must collect a series of items for a witch (Streep) in order to lift the family curse.
Johnny Depp. Disney. A Stephen Sondheim musical. You’d be forgiven for thinking you were stepping into a Tim Burton movie with Rob Marshall’s latest. With the plethora of fairy tale twists also coming out of Disney at the moment, you’d also be forgiven for thinking this was just another unimaginative money grab. To an extent you’d be right. After all, the stage show may have been around since 1987, but it’s taken this long to come around, and the success of Disney’s Once Upon A Time, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, has surely made the executives at the studio decide now is the time.
INTO THE WOODS melds a number of classic fairy tales together in a single musical. Paths cross, fates intertwine, and nobody stops with their incessant singing. Both the plot and the music is where the film completely fell apart. The plot mixes so much of what we’ve already seen that it becomes tiresome. We know all these classic stories, and for the first half of the film, we’re given nothing new. This results in simply truncated versions of classic tales and each individual story feels rushed, while the film as whole drags along. Discovering that the film has had nearly an hour trimmed from the stage production makes an awful lot of sense. Things just seem to jump around, dwell on incidental characters for too long, and nobody gets the exploration they sorely need.
By the time we reach the last 45 minutes, when everything gets turned on its head, it’s all a little too late. There’s not very much investment and we’ve had to suffer through such mundanity that it’s too little too late. The more interesting and profound destruction of happily ever afters and the deconstruction of fairy tale archetypes, should have been the core focus throughout. I get that the first half builds to this, but fairy tales are so widely known we hardly need an hour of introduction.
In terms of music, the only songs that I left singing were tracks from SWEENEY TODD, and I’m not that familiar with that film/musical. I honestly can’t recall a single tune or lyric from INTO THE WOODS aside from the repetitive titles. Sondheim seems more concerned about telling a story (that we’re all familiar with) than entwining memorable songs in our heads. The same tunes constantly return but to little effect. The best of the bunch is the song between the two princes, but mostly due to some hilarious one upmanship in shirt ripping form.
What is truly remarkable here though is the performances. Marshall has managed to draw out incredible turns from every cast member, whether it be a large part or small. In fact, it may be these great performances that detract from the songs, as the attention is drawn to the nuances of facial expressions. Corden gives an amazing turn as the vulnerable baker, while Chris Pine once again proves his versatility by showcasing his vocal talents as well as his comic naivety. Marshall uses Depp better than Burton has done for many a year, in a small role that highlights the quirkiness without becoming too much. With Streep, Kendrick, Blunt, and more also giving incredible turns, it’s a shame the film just couldn’t have more.
INTO THE WOODS may have missed its opportunity to truly set cinemas on fire. The revisiting fairy tale genre is becoming tired, and Marshall fails to expand the world’s scope. Despite being a film, the sets just feel so tiny, with characters running into each other and betraying their stage origins. Sometimes the theatrical approach works; such as Depps costume, but other times it just feels restrictive. If anything, go and see INTO THE WOODS for how well the cast do, and just hope it brings them a lot more work in the future.
[usr=2] INTO THE WOODS is released on 25th December in the US and 9th January in the UK.
bmg615
Dec 17, 2014 at 3:16 pm
“Sondheim seems more concerned about telling a story… than entwining memorable songs in our heads.”
Do you really not see what an insane comment this was? Most critics would use a sentence like that to PRAISE the film, not bash it. You’re the reason the abomination that was Mamma Mia is the highest grossing musical of all time. You’ve just completely invalidated yourself as a reviewer. You are the lowest common denominator, and the death of meaningful storytelling. Enjoy the Annie remake.
Chas
Dec 17, 2014 at 6:50 pm
The reviewer (and I use the term in its broadest possible sense) clearly has Van Gogh’s ear for music, and an artistic and critical sensibility better suited to a Patagonian mollusc of indeterminate species.
Dan Bullock
Dec 17, 2014 at 10:00 pm
Yeeah, Sondheim is about telling story over the songs – and it’s also not the same story, is a variation of stories we know. Having said that, Into The Woods is a very specific – unusual – one to try and adapt as it’s absolutely huge and I also think one that needs repeat viewings/visits to the theatre.
I think bmg615 goes a little over-the-top with ‘lowest common denominator’ though, there’s reality out there as well – you know?