Director: Rob Marshall Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp Writer: James Lapine | 4/5 Into the Woods 2014 has been a great year for musicals. From God Help the Girl to Begin Again, there has been too many great songs to name. It only seems fitting that we top off the year with a new Rob Marshall musical extravaganza, which is, unsurprisingly, the most tuneful movie of the year. Marshall’s film is based on the successful James Lapine/Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name that weaves together several fairytales into one dark and unsuspecting package. Into the Woods' main storyline follows a nameless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) as they search for four objects - red cape, golden slipper, yellow hair, white cow - to give a witch (Meryl Streep) so that she may take back a curse placed on their family which forbids them to bare children. As you may have guessed, the cape is Little Red Riding Hood’s (Lilla Crawford), the slipper Cinderella’s (Anna Kendrick), the hair Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), and the cow Jack’s (Daniel Huttlestone). Each character has a story to tell; a story that on multiple occasions intersects with the other stories. Whether it's because of the flashy songs or skillful direction, the film’s many moving cogs never become disorienting. It is quite easy to follow the story. Without all of your attention on the plot, you can actually focus on the many themes peppered throughout the story, some easy to spot and some not. It pleases me to say that the arcs of these characters most resemble the original Grimm fairytales, especially in the case of Cinderella and her feet-slashing step-sisters. With a revived emphasis on the classic parables, the themes resonate with more power than their happily-ever-after counterparts. If you go in thinking the plot lines will resolve the way your old Disney cartoons did, you may |
Wishes and consequences are the not the only things examined, though. We also have a son burdened by his father’s sins, a vanity-stricken witch, curiosity, and naivety, just to name a few. Though the inevitable Disney-fication lessens a few of the edgier themes (like death), Marshall does a fine job of keeping to the original musical’s shadowy intentions.
One of the more risqué elements of Lapine’s story is the sexualization and overall creepiness of the Wolf (Johnny Depp). Depp plays the wolf with some serious perv-vibes, but his role in the film is little more than a glorified cameo. This is disappointing, seeing how Depp’s character was so prevalent in the trailers. When it is all said and done, the subplot of Red, Wolf, and the Grandmother ends up being the most distracting and problematic of the lot - which is not to say the actors don’t give it their all.
All of the actors give rousing performances that range from bumbling (Corden) to flighty (Kendrick) to just plain silly (Chris Pine, hilarious). Though Streep’s witch is zany in all the best ways, I would have to crown Emily Blunt as best-in-class. She takes a part that could easily have been a baggy sideline role or worse, comic relief, and makes the absolute best of it. Her baker’s wife turns out to be the most fierce of the lot, radiating girl power and independence for days. Determined to go her own way and follow her own fancies, Blunt more than earns her Golden Globe nomination.
Last, but certainly not least, is the much-discussed music that fills just about every second of screen time. Marshall gets his exposition done with an astounding fifteen minute opening number that introduces all of his characters and their respected wishes, fears, etc. Many have complained about the omission of some of Sondheim’s pieces from the play. Though it is true that Disney had a hand in trimming up the seedier parts, there is more than enough to enjoy here. My personal two favorites were “Giants in the Sky,” sung exceptionally well by Huttlestone (Jack), and Chris Pine’s hilarious “Agony.”
In a film where ninety percent of the dialogue is sung, you are bound to find a tune that fits your fancy. So goes the film. Even with a droopy, prolonged ending, Into the Woods is packed with so much fairy dust that it would be impossible to walk away not jazzed about something.