Director Rob Marshall has had his hits (Chicago) and misses (Nine) when it comes to his musical cinematic endeavours, and rather oddly, for me anyway, his latest fell in both camps.
Into the Woods is the adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical of the same name, and Marshall has gathered a very respectable cast around him.
Meryl Streep finally dons a witch's costume, Johnny Depp plays the big bad wolf, and Pitch Perfect stand-out Anna Kendrick gets to impress again, this time as Cinderella.
The story is the ultimate Brothers Grimm fairy-tale mash-up - pulling together everyone from Prince Charming (in his many incarnations) to Jack and his Beanstalk. Of course, we also need Rapunzel letting down her fabulous hair, and a Little Red Riding Hood.
For all sorts of different reasons, they all trot off into the titular woods, part of a grand master plan involving aforementioned Witch-Poo (Streep), plus a childless Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) on a quest to break a curse and make a baby.
All sorts of quite adult twists in these fairy tales begin to take shape, and this is where things become a little unstuck for me.
I can't quite figure what this story is trying to be and who it's trying please. Its rated PG, seems to be targeting a family audience and most of the themes are good ones. But there is darkness in them there woods, and this story if definitely for the older, hardier offspring.
Overall, this movie blew very hot and cold for me.
I loved the subversion and fraternization of the fairy-tale worlds and some of the songs and performance were enormous fun. But the story dragged on and dragged it down, robbing me of much good feeling towards it as a result.
Three stars.
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Into the Woods
:: Director: Rob Marshall
:: Starring: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Lucy Punch, Christine Baranski, Tracey Ullman, James Corden
:: Rating: PG - Violence & coarse language
:: Running Time: 125 minutes
:: Release Date: January 8, 2015
source: newshub archive
