Review: Into The Woods

First of all, as a warning to those of you who aren't exactly in love with musicals, and in fact, might really dislike them, this film is basically one long song. I know that they're divided into individual songs, but honestly with so little dialogue and and the fact that the majority of the songs sounded pretty similar, it was basically a giant song. This film is not for the faint of heart, you've got to enjoy constant singing, and I mean constant.

I thought the story moved pretty steadily and was pretty fast-paced. It's definitely not what I expected, I knew it would have dark undertones but it still took me by surprise. I think there might have been too many characters for proper character developmentr. Rapunzel, Prince Charming, his brother and Jack's mother were basically non-characters, especially Rapunzel. Due to her presence in the official film posters, I assumed she had a much bigger role but she basically says about two words. Besides this, I enjoyed the darker slant on traditional fairytales.

I was pleasantly surprised with the actors in Into The Woods. Meryl Streep, as per usual, was a goddess and can do no wrong. James Corden, an actor I was apprehensive about because he's more of a comedian, actually played the part of the Baker pretty well. I also thought Anna Kendrick was brilliant as Cinderella, Pitch Perfect really did nothing to showcase her singing talent. The actors who played Jack and Little Red Riding Hood were also quite good, however Red's voice did grate on my brain sometimes and I thought that Chris Pine's portrayal of the Prince was more sinister than charming at times. The deep growl he seemed to use every time he promised to find Cinderella was more unnerving than romantic.

The production design truly deserves a mention. The attention to detail is astounding and the designers really strayed from the typical layouts commonly seen in fairy tales, the interior of Rapunzel's tower was particularly stunning. The costumes were also really intricate, with once again Rapunzel's dress and the Witch's youthful appearance being my favourites. I personally think its only competition in the Oscars is The Grand Budapest Hotel in terms of Best Production Design.

All and all, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I wouldn't watch it all the time, the fact that it's basically a two hour song is a bit much for me to handle. However, it has a fast paced story which is actually comedic at times, and I'll admit, I'm listening to the soundtrack right now, it's addicting.

***