From the first moment when Anna Kendrick as Cinderella sings the words "I wish," the palpable excitement that has been building for months takes fanciful flight. Is it possible? At long last, have they really made a movie from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods?! And such a good one, too?! Is my showtune queen heart about to burst?! Yes, yes and yes again. Talk about a perfect time for a movie musical based on fairy taleswhat with the culture's zeal for fantasy ( with everything from Frozen to Grimm to Snow White and the Huntsman to Game of Thrones falling into this category ), it was perhaps inevitable that producers would eventually get around to Into the Woods.
It doesn't hurt that Sondheim's score for the 1987 Broadway hit is not just melodically gorgeous, lyrically clever and insightful butgiven the mash up of fairy-tale characters and its pixilated first actit's easily his most accessible. Now a warning for rabid fans of the show like myself: It will take a while for the giddiness to subside and for you to settle in, especially as out director Rob Marshall ( back on firm footing after the missteps of Memoirs of a Geisha and Nine ) follows the lead of the stage show and hits the ground running with the energetic opening number.
In the space of those delightful 12 minutes, we meet the characters we know so well as they head into the woods to get their heart's desire: the plucky, tender-hearted Cinderella ( Kendrick ); her rotten-egg stepmother ( Christine Baranski ) and vile stepsisters ( Tammy Blanchard and Lucy Punch ) preparing for the ball; Jack, the sweet, simpleton boy ( Daniel Huttlestone ); his loving scold of a mother ( Tracey Ullman ) and their skinny cow that will be exchanged for the magic beans; and tough, wised-up, cape-wearing Little Red Riding Hood ( Lilla Crawford, stealing every scene ), who stuffs herself with the sweet treats offered by a timid baker ( James Corden ) and his forthright wife ( Emily Blunt ).
The baker and his wifecharacters who Lapine ( who adapts his stage script for the screen ) and Sondheim added to the lineupare childless, much to their dismay. Suddenly, their terrifying neighboran ugly, whirling dervish of a witch with flaming blue hair ( Meryl Streep, having tremendous fun with the role )bursts in and offers them a chance to change their fate ( and hers as well ). The duo must bring the witch within three midnights a host of objects, each possessed by one of the other characters. Off the couple go on their delightful treasure hunt, encountering a series of triumphs and reversals in pursuit of their wish, egged on every so often by the caustic hag.
Streep gets a lot of laughs out of the part and, as usual, adds deeper shadings that make the role her own. Although there's still a bit of vocal thinness here and there, she really belts it out and Sondheim's songs are much better suited to her vocal abilities than the pop ear candy of Mamma Mia! In general, the songs are well sung by all but they are performed in a more conversational manner than they were on stagea trade-off that works on screen, where a more natural approach by actors who sing ( rather than the reverse ) is needed. To be honest, though Blunt is spunky fun as the baker's wife and Streep, as noted, gives the witch her own spin, I did have moments where I missed the over-the-top theatricality and crack timing of Joanna Gleason ( who won the Tony ) and Bernadette Peters, who played these roles onstage, respectively.
I'm singling out Streep and Blunt ( who also co-starred in The Devil Wears Prada ) but the movie offers everyone a chance to shine ( Kendrick's vocalizing is particularly fine ). Sondheim and Lapine also stir in Rapunzel ( Mackenzie Mauzy ); a pair of bantam-strutting, chest-baring princes ( Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen, whose duet "Agony" is the film's comedic highlight ); and Red Riding Hood's nemesis, the seductive Wolf ( Johnny Depp, in fine voice but a bit lost in the woods in what amounts to a cameo role ). A few other minor characters are tossed into the witches' brew, each strivingand eventually gettinghis or her own happily ever after.
A final characterthe pissed off Giant's Wife ( Frances de la Tour ), who's seeking revenge for the person responsible for her husband's demisedrives the second half of the film, which takes the cast and the combined stories into some very dark territory. Be careful what you wish for and be prepared to accept the consequence of your actions, Sondheim and Lapine remind us ( most achingly in a song expertly performed by Streep, "Children Will Listen" ).
The idea that we must pay for the happy endings in our lives strikes a somber note which deepens the piece, giving it a bittersweet reality that confirms that this is a movie for adults and not the kiddies. ( It's understandable why many high school theaters only perform the sunny first act. ) There were reports that Disney, producer of the film, had urged a softer approach and a lightening of the emotionally heavy second half. Sondheim himself in an interview ( though he later insisted he had been misquoted ) seemed to suggest that that was the case.
But the downbeat material remains, and my reaction to it is just as divided as it was when I saw the show in its original Broadway incarnation. Honestly, I, too, prefer the happier first half and wouldn't have minded a few changes in a feel good direction. But lose more of Sondheim's spectacular melodies or lyrics that come past the midway point ( "Children Will Listen," "Last Midnight," "No One Is Alone" ) in the process? Nothing doing ( losing "No More," another indelible Sondheim creation and a new song written for Streep, "Rainbow" is bad enough ).
So, I'll take the spoonful of medicine with the sugar, the bitter with the sweet ( as one always must with Sondheim and his doom-and-gloom outlook ) and be grateful that Marshall and his team have gone back Into the Woods and returned with a lovely adaptation of the show thatwith its lavish trappings, muted, colors and lush orchestrationsproves to be such a glorious addition to the movie musical.
Briefly noted: Mike Leigh's Mr. Turnerwhich stars Timothy Spall as the British painter J.M.W. Turner, whose radiant, light-filled landscapes are considered among the finest ever createdis a tremendous portrait of an artist and his times ( Britain in the early 19th century ). The gruff Turner, surrounded by female supplicants ( except for his estranged shrew of a wife, who barges in for a visit now and then ) is an established success aware of his gifts and hailed by the public and his colleagues when we first encounter him in middle age.
Spall, whose performance consists of a series of grunts and lunges ( most at the nearest female ), at first seems the embodiment of everything we've come to believe an artist is not. But slowly the boorish behavior comes into focus. It makes perfect sense that a man with Turner's enormous giftan obsession, really ( at one point he has himself strapped to the bow of a ship in order to study the violent storm raging around him )would become impatient with everyday decorum and the rigid constraints of the British upper class. All of life is about getting back to the artwork that is the reason for living, and Leigh's extraordinary film is one of the best examples of this conundrum that I can recall. A huge shout-out, as well, should go to Dick Pope's sensational, gorgeous cinematography.
Film notes:
Last Call for Ziggy Stardust: David Bowie Isthe immersive exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., that chronicles the life of the glamrock icon, sexual provocateur, and musical and cultural innovatoris coming to a close on Jan. 4. So this is a shout-out to all who haven't made the time to take it in: Don't miss it. Aside from the expected costumes, diaries, handwritten lyrics and other musical artifacts of Bowie's storied career, the show includes an interesting glimpse into the Thin White Duke's scattershot film career ( with clips from The Man Who Fell to Earth, Labyrinth, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence among them ). www2.mcachicago.org/exhibition/david-bowie-is/ .
New Year's Eve for movie lovers: Baz Luhrmann's wacky, frenetic and very stylish 2001 musical, Moulin Rouge!featuring dreamy Ewan McGregor and beautiful Nicole Kidman and company belting out songs by Elton John, Sting, LaBelle and other pop iconsis back as the centerpiece for the Music Box Theatre's ( 3733 N. Southport Ave. ) Wed., Dec. 31, New Year's Eve celebration. Pre-film entertainment, a bevy of local ( and very saucy ) vaudeville acts, hors d'oeuvres, a midnight champagne toast and party favors are all included with the interactive screening. Dick O'Day ( my alter ego ) will emcee the evening, which kicks off at 8 p.m. www.musicboxtheatre.com .
Now available: The Best of Knight at the Movies: 2004-2014a compilation book of more than 150 of my film reviews from a queer perspective for Windy City Timesis now available and makes a great holiday gift! www.knightatthemovies.com .