Review: The Voices
The Voices will not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying the surety of tone and execution in this hybrid of the madcap and the grisly.
Ryan Reynolds stars as Jerry Hickfang, a boy next door type working at the Milton Fixture and Faucet company where the shipping employees are decked out in sugar pink jumpsuits amidst the creamy industrial grays of their surroundings. Jerry seems to be an average guy, maybe a little shy, maybe a little too eager to fit in, maybe someone who hasn't been around people too much. His boss likes him well enough to enlist him to be part of the planning committee for the company;s barbecue, and to deliver complimentary to Jerry's court-appointed therapist (Jacki Weaver).
Ah yes, his therapist. She's a sweet and understanding sort, constantly asking if he hears voices and admonishing him to take his medication. Jerry denies the former and sidesteps the latter, but it's clear that the medication has been ignored and voices are very much heard. Two voices, to be exact: the Southern drawl of Jerry's dog Bosco and the Scottish burr of his cat Mr. Whiskers (both voiced by Reynolds). Bosco is all too happy to encourage and support Jerry, Mr. Whiskers less so and is particularly in favour of Jerry giving in to his more violent impulses.
Jerry's not exactly the murdering kind, at least not at first and not on purpose. He certainly doesn't mean to kill Fiona (Gemma Arterton), the sexy British expat who wants out of the small industrial town where football and karaoke bars reign supreme. The knife he was carrying just happened to stab her flesh. Those other stab wounds? Well, he didn't want to see her suffering so... Her decapitated head finds a new home in his fridge. Soon she starts talking to him and requesting a new friend. It's so lonely in the fridge, and it would be so easy for him to ask out co-worker Lisa (Anna Kendrick). Besides, Mr. Whiskers says, there's no shame in killing, it would only make him feel more alive. Bosco obviously disagrees and tells Mr. Whiskers to "Go choke on a hairball."
Director Marjane Satrapi is best known for her graphic novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2, the first of which she adapted into an award-winning animated feature. Satrapi has a striking sense of the visual, which she deploys to incisive effect. Jerry's reliability as a narrator is already in question once the animals start talking, but when he takes his medication and his tidy apartment is revealed to be a filthy dwelling lined with empty pizza boxes and animal droppings, any residual trust is thrown out the window. Satrapi, cinematographer Maxime Alexandre and production designer Udo Kramer also present the audience with more whimsical moments, such as the Busby Berkley-type song and dance that closes the film, as well as scenes that could have been lifted from Sleeping Beauty as told by the Brothers Grimm. There is no shortage of visual delights to be found in this film.
Considering the multiple genres, tonalities, and textures in play, Satrapi establishes a fluidity that keeps the film compelling even at its most bizarre moments. Credit also to Michael R. Perry (Paranormal Activity 2), whose screenplay deftly balances the humour and the gore. Arterton, Kendrick, Weaver, and Ella Smith (as another co-worker and potential victim) are all wonderful, but Reynolds truly impresses as Jerry, maintaining the audience's empathy with his likability as he delivers a well-layered portrait of a damaged person who simply doesn't want to be alone.
The Voices
Directed by: Marjane Satrapi
Written by: Michael R. Perry
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver, Ella Smith, Sam Spruell
