Into the Woods: Review

REBECCA COATES REVIEWS THE MUSICAL FANTASY FILM INTO THE WOODS

Into the Woods revolves around a host of familiar fairytale characters, twining their stories together as they all enter the woods searching for something and leaving forever changed. Much of the film takes place in the blue-tinged darkness of night, and even the daytime scenes are not shot with the same fluorescent colour we associate with live-action fairytale films, such as Enchanted. This lends a sense of realism to the film, which does not shy away from depicting some of the hardships of poverty, and even includes a few of the darker moments from the original tales.

Despite this, there are moments when the film cannot decide between fantasy and realism. James Corden’s everyman baker jars oddly with the wonderful dramatics of The Prince (Chris Pine) and The Witch (Meryl Streep). However, the more comedic aspects of the film mesh well with its more sombre ones. Songs such as Agony are littered with funny moments, and Corden’s deliberately convoluted facial movements leave the audience chuckling – although he still manages some convincing tears and desperation later on.

Although Corden’s acting is strong throughout, his narrative voiceovers begin to grate after a while, and it starts to feel that director Rob Marshall is breaking the fundamental ‘show, don’t tell’ rule of storytelling. Even though Corden’s singing voice is good, it does not quite match up to the soaring emotion of either Anna Kendrick or Meryl Streep, or even that of chirpy child star Daniel Huttlestone.

Into the Woods is very much a film of contrast, both deliberate and inevitable given its Broadway source material. While the advantages of the cinema are felt in the whirling special effects, the curtailed running time means that not all narratives are explored. The black and white morality of fairytales begins to obstruct characters that are not given that much time to agonise over issues. Despite a few genuinely surprising events the ending does seem inevitable. This is not the trope of traditional fairytales, but it is one we have come to expect regardless.

Even as the camera pans above the oppressive darkness of the woods into the brightness of sunrise, clouds obscure the light, suggesting that these characters may never get the happily ever after the fairytales have promised us.