THE VOICES (review)

THE VOICES
Written by Michael R. Perry / Directed by Marjane Satrapi / Starring Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton and Jacki Weaver

From Marjane Satrapi, the writer and director of the Academy Award nominated, PERSEPOLIS, comes THE VOICES, a fun horror-comedy about the dangers of abandoning your meds.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Jerry, a friendly shipping clerk in the fictional town of Milton. On the surface, Jerry has everything going for him. He’s charming, dorky, handsome, and has two very loveable pets. While his psychotherapist (Jacki Weaver) continues to emphasize the importance of Jerry’s medications, Jerry ignores her and does not take them. For this reason, Jerry is greeted by the voices of his dog, Bosco, and his cat, Mr. Whiskers, each time he enters his home (both of which are also voiced by Reynolds himself). Bosco assures Jerry that he’s a “swell guy”, but Mr. Whiskers tells Jerry that he’s pathetic. To prove his cat wrong, Jerry decides to finally make a move on the pretty girl at work, Fiona (Gemma Arterton). Let’s just say that things don’t go so well.

Satrapi’s film is extremely morbid in the most delightful of ways. From the foulmouthed (and British) Mr. Whiskers to a decapitated head screaming from Jerry’s fridge, it’s often confusing whether we’re supposed to smile or be completely horrified. Both the tone and colour palette may be similar to the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (AMELIE and DELICATESSEN), Satrapi gives the film a fresh spin and goes places even Jeunet would never dare to go. Reynolds is excellent in all his parts here, as he also voices an injured deer and a stuffed animal named Bunny Monkey. With THE VOICES, we’re getting a humorous take on mental illness, which is a tricky topic to tackle without being exploitative. If you listen to any voices in your head, it should be the one’s telling you to see this movie.

Your turn!

How many sheep would you give The Voices?

[kkstarratings]