Little Voice (1998)

Average rating

(70%)

Starring:	Michael Caine \| Brenda Blethyn \| Jim Broadbent \| Ewan McGregor \| Jane Horrocks
Director:	Mark Herman
Studio:	WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	96 mins
Genres:	Comedy \| Drama
Languages:	English
Released:	June 15, 2006
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In a dreary English seaside town, one of it's timid inhabitants, known as LV (Little Voice), mourns over her dead father and obsesses over his record collection by singing along to his favorite performers. Her rare talents for emulating the dulcet tones of Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey are soon discovered by her dominant mother's boyfriend, a small-time showbiz agent. Their attempts to propel her to stardom are at first successful when the local town gets to see her perform. However, LV is soon wise to their selfish intentions and withdraws from performing again, thus forcing an emotional showdown between the three.

Rating of 4 stars out of 5

In this comedy drama, Jane Horrocks reprises her stage performance as the reclusive girl whose virtuoso impersonations of the great singers — among them Shirley Bassey and Judy Garland — contrast with her almost total shyness. Her talents are belatedly recognised by sleazy agent Michael Caine, who's prepared to endure the attentions of her sexually predatory mother (Brenda Blethyn) as long as he can make some money out of that voice. The brilliance of Horrocks is slightly undermined by director Mark Herman's crude depiction of working-class life in a northern seaside town, while Blethyn's strident squawking almost threatens to drown out the more subtle, Cinderella-like undertones of the story. But there's good support from Jim Broadbent as a nightclub boss and from Ewan McGregor. In any other country, this would have made Horrocks a major star.

Rating of 1 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

About six plots are squeezed together here Ð including an unlikely romance, and a daughter's queasy worship of her dead father Ð to the benefit of none; where the film comes to life is in the scenes between Horrocks and Caine, and the finale in a tawdry c