Little Voice

I watched some of Little Voice last night. It showcases just how talented Jane Horrocks is as a singer and mimic. She is unbelievably good.

I'm not that keen on the film itself: I've watched it a couple of times and I'm never fussed on films with grubby sorts of characters. Our film industry seems to do grubby, depressing Brits very well, (as it should :D), but it's not the escapism I'm looking for in movies. I'm thinking of Rita Sue and Bob Too, and films like that. I just find the characters rather repulsive and cringe-making, and I'm not into that humour particularly.

I don't like the tv series Shameless or (gasp and stretch your eyes at my poor taste) Alan Partridge or The Office very much because of the crassness & cringeworthy aspect that leads the characters. I feel embarrassed for them rather than amused. *

But back to Little Voice, apart from not liking parts of the plot & characterisation, the love story between Ewan McGregor and Jane Horrock's character is rather sweet and her performance is just .. fantastic.

From "Stan Ogden"'s review on IMDB : "Jane Horrocks! wow - I had no idea that she is such a tremendous mimic. I was slightly intoxicated whilst watching this film, and assumed that they were using the extracted original vocals of singers such as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland etc. I was gob-smacked when the closing title said 'Jane Horrocks performed all her own songs'. Christ on crutches.. to call her gift 'a talent' is a travesty."

Sing it to the choir, Stan. :D


*I guess there is an aspect of that humour in many of the characters in Green Wing, which I find hilarious. There are the excessively shy Martin and the ludicrously pompous Dr Alan Statham, for example. But it goes so deeply & quickly into the surreal and bizarre that grubby reality is left far behind. And I actually like the characters, even the most unpleasant ones, whereas in contrast I find Alan Partridge wholly resistible.

Maybe I haven't given the characters in such series long enough to grow on me?