Once in a while, a movie comes along that has such fantastic advance word-of-mouth that you become skeptical about how good the film can possibly be given all the hype. "The English Patient" and "The Horse Whisperer" are two recent examples of good films done in by great hype which resulted in audience expectations being raised to unrealistic levels. At first glance, "Little Voice" would fall into that pedigree.

The story of LV (Jane Horrocks), an extremely withdrawn and introverted woman who lives with her loud, wanton mother Mari (Brenda Blethyn), and how her "talent" becomes a source of joy and sadness is skilfully and lovingly told in this film adaptation of Jim Cartwright's play "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice", written for the screen and directed by Mark Herman. Mari, a man-hungry woman embittered by her lot in life, pays not attention to her daughter. LV in turn barely acknowledges her mother's presence, deathly silent and cloistered in her own world in her upstairs room. The two women loathe each other, their respective loyalties torn by their memories of LV's father. To Mari, he was a weak, useless man who is no longer around for her to take out her frustrations on; to LV, he is the epitome of kindness, gentleness and love. LV's devotion to him extends to his extensive record collection of classic cabaret tunes which she lovingly plays ceaselessly - through them, she communes with the father she longs for and cherishes. Things come to a head between the two of them when Ray Say (Michael Caine) becomes Mari's latest conquest. A dried-up, low-rent "talent-scout", Ray is mesmerized when he overhears LV singing to her father late one night, and believes that he's discovered his ticket to the big time. Because although she barely speaks, LV has the uncanny ability to sing the songs her father loved note-for-note, pitch-perfect, right down to the tonal quality and vocal inflections of the original singers. As Ray cajoles and Mari pressures, LV decides to perform in public - but things don't go as planned, and it is up to Billy (Ewan McGregor), a shy bird-breeding telephone repairman, to help LV find herself once again.

Miramax has shrewdly positioned this movie as a feel-good, laugh-out-loud comedy with sassy songs and British wit. This is not an entirely accurate picture. While the film is often hilarious and does feature a brilliant soundtrack of vocal favorites, there is an undercurrent of bitterness and anger that runs through the material. The story of Mari and LV is a sad, unpleasant one, and the film does a brilliant job of not shying away from this dimension of the story. This boldness in not pandering to the mass market audience desire for a fuzzy, feel-good product also makes the film resonate with power and dignity. Mark Herman should be credited for not compromising the artistic integrity of all involved, especially his superlative cast, all of whom give uniformly excellent performances.

Fresh off her Oscar nominated performance in "Secrets and Lies", Brenda Blethyn gives a stark, scenery-chewing performance as the loud, obnoxious Mari. It is a gutsy, showy turn, full of exaggerations and risks that work beautifully to highlight Mari's grotesque nature and her desire for love - the balance of pathetic neediness and brittle cruelty is marvellously realized. Michael Caine and Ewan McGregor also lend wonderful support - Caine has a handful of beautiful scenes, and McGregor, after a whole year of turning in forgettable performances, finally inhabits a role that is likable and sweetly under-played.

But true to the hype, the film truly belongs to Jane Horrocks. Not only does she act and sing well as LV, she acts and sings as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and a handful of other performers beautifully. Giving a perfect performance that requires no further elaboration nor description, she is simply stunning and memorable.

Yet another one of Miramax's unexpected success stories, "Little Voice" is the kind of film that will play well to audiences in search of heart, soul, some laughs and great acting. And for once, the hype is lived up to.

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© Copyright 1999. If you've got anything to add, write me at terrybrogan@hotmail.com. Or don't. Whatever.