Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Little Voice (1998)

Director: Mark Herman

Average user rating
1 review

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A waif comes out of her shell only when she sings in the style of her late Dad's beloved Garland, Monroe, Bassey, et al. Her domineering Mum and a small-time agent try to turn her into a star. That's about it for plot, which hangs on two questions: is timid 'Little Voice' (Horrocks) up to showcasing her talents in public, and if so, will this destroy her or set her free? Based on Jim Cartwright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Herman's film is a polished, populist effort whose virtues and flaws are soon apparent. The former include a river of verbal and visual gags, Broadbent and McGregor's supporting turns as a nightclub boss and LV's innocent soulmate, and, best of all, Caine's complex tour de force as the sleazy impresario desperate for a last shot at the big time. On the downside, Blethyn's monstrous mum is an OTT caricature of working class vulgarity, Horrocks is irritatingly gormless until she transforms into a sock it to 'em diva, and Herman derives as little mileage from most of the underwritten minor characters as he does from the tatty glamour of the Scarborough setting. A lively if finally rather cruel comic fantasy.

Author: GA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • Amie said...
    Posted on Nov 13 2007 12:04 This is truely the most amazing film of all time !
    It has a great cast to contribute to the film itself.
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: Mark Herman

Producer: Ellizabeth Karlsen

Cast: Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn full cast

Duration: 97 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.