In association with

Little Voice [1999]
from Warner Bros.
starring Brenda Blethyn, Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor, Philip Jackson
directed by Mark Herman

Features:

• PAL

Editorial Review:

Michael Caine was robbed of an Oscar. He gives his finest performance in a decade as big-talking small-time agent Ray Say, a paunchy, pale life-of-the-party hiding his desperation under gold chains and cool bravura. When he hears the almost magical voice of Jane Horrocks's meek little LV (short for Little Voice) fill her bedroom with the rich voice of Judy Garland, he sees his ticket to the big time. Little Voice is ostensibly LV's story, and in fact the original play was written for Horrocks, whose amazing vocal impressions of Garland, Shirley Bassey, and Marilyn Monroe (among others) form the centrepiece performance of the film. But as directed by Mark Herman (Brassed Off), the story of this mousy girl who shuts herself in from a bellowing world is just as overwhelmed by the bombastic characters as LV herself. Brenda Blethyn babbles a blue streak as LV's overbearing mother, Mari, an ageing widow who escapes her unhappiness in carousing and becomes almost pathologically jealous when Ray's attentions turn from her to LV. As Ray puts his dreams on the line for LV's showcase, he reveals his true self: a venal man who spits and barks out his bottled-up anger in an astoundingly bile-filled delivery of Roy Orbison's "It's Over". The showstopping moment once again overwhelms LV's tale, but Caine's performance is so astounding it seems a fair trade --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• An Excellent Piece of Viewing.
  Looking for a heart felt drama that is not too long? then Little Voice is for you.
  Truly amazing acting & script writing.
  Brenda Blethyn & Jane Horrocks make this movie.
  

• Gritty coming of age drama
  LV spends all her time in her room listening to her dead father's record collection at full blast. She hardly ever speaks (even when directly spoken to). Her overbearing mother takes everything LV does as a personal slight.

  Two men look set to change all that: There's the shy telephone engineer who notices LV and wants to get to know her better. There is also her mother's latest boyfriend who happens to be a small time promoter. After an accident with the electrical system, Ray notices the talent LV has... more info

• A Gem of a Movie!
  My oh My!!! This is a gem of a movie! I first saw it last year and loved it. Now it is thankfully, available on DVD, you cannot really afford to miss this movie. The lovely Jane Horrocks plays LV (Little Voice) a painfully shy girl who lives her life through the great singers of yesteryear. (Garland; Monroe; Dietrich; and in our own time Bassey etc.) Michael Caine (who should have gained an oscar for his part) discovers her talent quite by accident when he develops a relationship with LV's mother Brenda... more info

• Amazing voice, terrific story
  Aussies who have seen Malcolm, the story of the socially inept inventor, will find strong similarities with the LV character in this film, and the background music is also similar and used in a similar way. It brought back happy memories of cars dividing in two, and boys who talk non-stop to their girlfriends about boring technical stuff.

  But the highlight of the film is the terrific vocal impersonations of great singers by Jane Horrocks.

  I thought the plot was well thought out and ended in a most... more info

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