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Little Voice
Miramax Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for language and brief nudity
Starring
Brenda Blethyn,
Jane Horrocks,
Ewan McGregor,
and
Michael Caine
A magical musical comedy about the power and perils of expression. (Miramax Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Jim Cartwright (play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice)
Mark Herman
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Mark Herman
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: July 13, 1999
Video: February 1, 2000
Theatrical: December 4, 1998
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
96 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
UK |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical or Comedy (Michael Caine)
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
New Times (L.A.)
Jean Oppenheimer
This terrific movie manages to invest kitchen-sink realism with the soul of a fairy tale.
90
Film.com
Peter Brunette
Little Voice is that rarity, a filmed adaptation of a stage play that actually works.
90
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
The trick of this movie is that it's so changeable: You think you've got it nailed and it slithers away to become some other new, fabulous thing.
88
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
By offering opportunities to laugh, cry, and cheer, Little Voice satisfies in a big way.
80
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Little Voice may be more of a confection than a square meal, but it's proof of how good a dish can be when the ingredients are of the highest order.
80
Rolling Stone
Arthur Borman
Taking it's framework from classic fairly-tale characters like Cinderella, the British story of Little Voice is one of compassion, humor and music.
80
Variety
Derek Elley
A small picture with a big heart.
80
The New York Times
Elvis Mitchell
Horrocks's phenomenal mimicry of musical grande dames...makes a splendid centerpiece for the otherwise more ordinary film built around it.
80
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
British actress Jane Horrocks plays Little Voice, and it is a transfixing, tour de force performance.
80
Chicago Reader
Lisa Alspector
Many of the elements in this story about a woman who's nearly eclipsed by her overbearing mother are all too familiar, yet the combination is utterly charming.
80
Village Voice
Amy Taubin
The show that Horrocks puts on when she finally takes to the stage is more than worth the wait.
75
USA Today
Susan Wloszczyna
Engagingly offbeat. [4 December 1998, Life, p.13E]
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The movie is often as raucous and seedy as its less-attractive characters, but it gains power from inventive acting and poignant touches.
75
Chicago Tribune
Gene Siskel
A slightly more light-hearted version of the "Shine" story. [4 December 1998, Friday, p.A]
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Little Voice is unthinkable without the special and unexpected talent of its star.
75
San Francisco Examiner
G. Allen Johnson
The drawbacks to Little Voice might sink a lesser movie, but not this one.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
They're great, every one of them, but the real joy of Little Voice is Horrocks: her impeccable evocation of a timid soul and that eerie voice that sounds so surprising coming out of her.
70
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
Jane Horrocks saves the annoyingly noisy Little Voice.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
Ultimately, Little Voice comes to us from an indeterminate place that is no longer the theatre but not quite the movies. Let's call it music videoland -- best just to sit back and enjoy golden-oldie tunes belted out by a quicksilver mimic.
60
Film Threat
Ilana Lindsey
The screenplay has a strong sense of fun but after establishing its concept and characters it doesn't know where to take them.
60
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Actress Jane Horrocks is so good in this drama that you'll hardly notice -- or care -- that the rest of the film isn't quite up to snuff.
58
Entertainment Weekly
Staff(not credited)
The movie adaptation suffers the symptoms of so many stage-to-screen transplants: What seemed thrillingly big and bold in live performance comes across shrunken and hemmed in when "opened up" to fill a feature film.
50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Joshua Klein
Though it's got some funny one-liners, sight gags, and Blethyn's over-the-top histrionics, Little Voice is often painfully dramatic, right down to its final mother-daughter confrontation.
40
Austin Chronicle
Steve Davis
The decibel level in Little Voice ranges from a delicate whisper to seismic bellowing; aurally speaking, it traverses the spectrum of human sounds.
20
LA Weekly
Manohla Dargis
As mean-spirited toward its working-class characters, especially its women, as it is profoundly unfunny.
 The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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