Little Voice (1998)

Sing for Survival
"I sometimes think that the movies are the last sanctuary for the miraculous in a world otherwise lost to the spirit of cynicism. That's certainly the appeal of the absolutely fabulous "Little Voice," which is a kind of litany of the miraculous." Stephen Hunter

There are several voices in this movie. The first voice is from Laura aka 'Little Voice' Jane Horrocks. She is caught in her own world after her father has died. Her mother, the second voice, Mari, Brenda Blethyn, has ignored her most of the time and brought her up in a world of emotional abuse. 'Little Voice' uses the real voice she has to escape her world. She listens to records all day and watches musical shows on television. Laura and her father, who owned a used record store, would listen to the great singers, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, and Marlene Dietrich. One of her mother's latest boyfriends, Michael Caine, comes to visit and hears Little Voice sing, and he sees fame, fortune and his destiny. This is the role of lifetime for Michael Caine and he more than lives up to it. How this movie escaped a more public view is beyond me. He talks Little Voice into a very public concert for her father. This is the highlight of the movie. The movie was made in part to showcase the singing of Jane Horrocks, and she is marvelous. The movie has a romantic interest for Laura and Ewen Mcgregor fills this role very satisfactorily. Little Voice sings her heart out and finds a voice to face her life. This is a movie that combines terrific acting, singing and a tried but true storyline.

"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." Michael Osullivan

An old fashioned movie that covers the bases. Highly entertaining.

Recommended. prisrob 11-11-07


[[ASIN:B000N6TX1I Children of Men (Widescreen Edition)]]

A wonderful surprise!
Horrocks is a wonder! Why isn't she famous here in America? I hope her amazing talent is appreciated in the UK.

In many ways this movie reminded me of old-fashioned musical romances - but with many modern twists keeping it from being predictable. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Real Little
Annoying people doing annoying little desperate things is this one. A little light hearted, but mostly the villian, Michael Caine, a talent agent of little worth, makes Little Voice a local star for a little while, till she breaks away from her loudmouth mummy and has a little romance. I watched this with three people and one fell asleep by the little ending.