Into the Woods ***** (2014, Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Johnny Depp) – Movie Review

Seizing her chance to overact for America, Meryl Streep triumphs as The Wicked Witch in director Rob Marshall’s enormously entertaining, glorious looking, highly imaginative and quite magical movie version of the legendary Stephen Sondheim stage show.

It’s very much award worthy. It’s nominated for three Oscars, with Meryl Streep’s Best Supporting Actress nod her 19th Oscar nomination so far. Streep as Best Supporting Actress is one of three Golden Globe nominations, with Emily Blunt as Best Actress and the film being nominated Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

The Witch has cursed the Baker and his Wife with being childless, but agrees  to reverse the curse if they can procure four magical items from classic fairy tale characters –  Jack’s white cow, Little Red Riding Hood’s red cape, Rapunzel’s yellow hair and Cinderella’s golden slipper.

The casting is just about right, as close as you can get. Anna Kendrick is great as Cinderella, quite a tough cookie this one, and UK talent Emily Blunt and James Corden are just perfect as The Baker and The Baker’s Wife, with Johnny Depp brilliantly sinister as the Big Bad Wolf and Chris Pine highly amusing as the Prince Charming.

Perhaps slightly less charming are Lilla Crawford as Red Riding Hood and Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel but Daniel Huttlestone as Jack, the boy with the Beanstalk, and Tracey Ullman as his mother together provide the full measure of entertainment. Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchar and Lucy Punch are excellent as the Wicked Stepmother and Ugly Sisters, though they could do with more to do.

Sondheim ensures these dark, twisted tales are really Grimm, with a shocking cull of the major characters and a severe lack of happy ever after at the end. This doesn’t stop the movie being highly satisfying, it’s actually why it’s highly satisfying, as its take on all the old tales and characters feels fresh and new. And somehow, weirdly, it’s charming, at least certainly beguiling.

There are music and tunes all the way through, though Sondheim refuses to provide catchy, hummable songs like his Send in the Clowns for A Little Night Music. It’s a posh show, you see, aiming above being a ‘show’ to level out at the status of art, just like the film aims at being an art object, or at least an arty one.

The production designs and cinematography are superlative. Just the best. It’s a huge credit to England’s Shepperton Studios. Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock are deservedly Oscar nominated for Best Production Design and so is Colleen Atwood for Best Costume Design.

It’s all so sharp, clever, witty and sophisticated that you can hardly believe your luck. Folks who hate musicals can give it a wide berth, but the fans have something really to celebrate. It’s a are treat and a little gem.

The original 1987 Broadway production starred Bernadette Peters as the Witch, Joanna Gleason as the Baker’s Wife, Chip Zien as the Baker and Barbara Bryne as Jack’s Mother.

Marshall is also the director of the 2002 musical smash Chicago.

At $15.1 million, it had the fourth largest Christmas Day opening gross in history behind 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, 2012’s Les Miserables and Unbroken.

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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