Sociable Movie Guy
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A (Surprisingly) Dark yet Charming Fairy Tale Musical To me, musicals are always fun to watch, whether they are in drama or comedy form. The reason is simple, it is because they usually have songs that go straight to your head and stay there for a couple of days or even weeks. Just about two years ago, one of Disney’s animated film did that. Yes, I’m talking about ‘Frozen’, an award-winning and influential musical animated film. I believe you still can see ‘Frozen’ footprints everywhere, especially in merchandises from your younger sister’s or her friends’ birthdays. Not to mention the songs, particularly ‘Let It Go’ that is still on the playlist of your local radios. Even one of the recent ‘Glee’ episodes features ‘Let It Go’ sung by Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry. Disney then brings another musical to the silver screen. Adapted from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Broadway musical of the same name, ‘Into the Woods’ is directed by musical expert Rob Marshall. His previous films include Oscar-winning ‘Chicago’ (2002) and Oscar-nominated Nine (2009). His latest feature sets in the village whose inhabitants are very unique, such as The Witch (Meryl Streep), The Baker (James Corden), The Baker’s Wife (Emily Blunt), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), Prince Charming (Chris Pine), and The Wolf (Johnny Depp). One day, The Witch persuades The Baker and his wife to go into the woods to get a few things that she needs. In return, she promises to undo the barren (or mandul in Bahasa Indonesia) curse she once put on The Baker’s family tree. Since they have been wanting to have a child for so long, they take The Witch’s request. In the woods, all of the aforementioned characters will collide while The Baker and his wife try everything they can to collect the things that The Witch wants. As a musical, Into the Woods has a handful of sing-able numbers from composer Stephen Sondheim. My personal favorites are the opening song and the one sung by The Witch when she explains why she placed the curse on The Baker’s family tree. Another positive thing from the film is none other than the charm of the star-studded cast. All of them play the roles finely and sing so beautifully. Kudos to Meryl Streep, whose performance as The Witch is as malicious and creepy as she is charming and engaging. I really think she does deserve her Oscar nomination for that portrayal. Lilla Crawford also shines as the strong-headed and fearless Little Red Riding Hood.
Story-wise, ‘Into the Woods’ starts off really strong. Sadly, it gets weaker and unfocused as it goes through the second and third phase. Streep’s performance actually experiences a downward too, but it’s the script’s fault not hers. There’s another thing that came to my attention regarding the story. I first thought the film would be a whimsical and light musical, but I was wrong. Much to my surprise, the story is dark and grim FOR a Disney film. What I mean by dark and grim here may not be surprising for some of you who have read the actual version of the fairy tales, not the Disney’s one. So yeah, that’s a hint of how dark ‘Into the Woods’ is. In sum, ‘Into the Woods’ is a nice fairy tale film with charming ensemble and a few ear-catching musical numbers that is darker than it seems. If you want to bring your kids or younger relatives to see this, please make sure that they are mature enough to digest the film’s dark element. Score : 3/5
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AuthorA self-acclaimed movie guy who likes to socialize |