Into the Woods (2014)

[connielane]

Full disclosure. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Into the Woods musical. I never saw it on stage and it took several listenings of the cast recording before it became something I genuinely *wanted* to listen to. It grew on me over time, and while I like the ideas in the story and like several of the songs (“Agony”, “Giants in the Sky”, “No One Is Alone”), there are still songs that are so hokey to me that I cringe (notably the theme song and “It Takes Two” - I actually really dig what’s happening with the characters in the latter, but the song sounds like the theme to a 1980s sitcom … or Too Many Cooks).

So it’s not a sacred cow for me. Inasmuch as anything *is* a sacred cow.

That said, I loved this movie. People have complained about the pacing, and I can’t help laughing at people who complain about this movie’s structure and yet think Boyhood is the greatest thing ever. But despite Rob Marshall’s attempts to turn a two-act stage production into a three-act movie, he … doesn’t really. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s not quite the perfection of Chicago, but it’s not an utter gutting like Nine was. Nor is it a very expensive music video like Les Miserables was.

You probably know all you need to know going in about the story, so I’ll skip over that. If you’ve never seen the musical, the music/songs might be an enigma. Or maybe not. I’ve always found Sondheim to be an acquired taste. One well worth acquiring, but still. The cast is almost uniformly great, with some wonderful surprises. If you *are* familiar with the musical, I implore you to please set aside the inevitable grouching over voices that are not on your favorite cast recording and give these peeps a chance. (Also remember that singing for film is and SHOULD BE different from stage singing.) Meryl is great, but when is she not (she KILLS IT on “Last Midnight,” if you were wondering). I quite liked Johnny Depp - haters gonna hate. Anna Kendrick has a very different voice than I was used to, but makes a great (and wonderfully indecisive) Cinderella. The kids … eh (great voices, but they know it, if you take my meaning). Tracey Ullman is fantastic (remember when she used to be a pop singer?). Chris Pine, James Corden, and Emily Blunt are REVELATIONS.

I’ll get into specifics below, but if you want to avoid spoilers just know that a whole lot of what you’ve heard about what changes were made is just flat out not true. Sondheim was WIDELY misinterpreted and misquoted in his comments back in the summer, and several things he said were before he even saw the film and he retracted (but it was too late to stop the rumor machine). This is not a Disney-fied version of the musical, and I was kind of appalled (though not exactly surprised) at how many people in the theater last night brought their SMALL CHILDREN to see this thing because Disney. This is absolutely not an appropriate movie for a young child in my opinion, and I think it’s kind of ballsy of Disney to put its name on a film that offers potentially controversial portrayals of characters it has made its fortune packaging for youngsters. Most notably, I thought it was kind of great that this movie includes all the stuff from the Grimms’ Cinderella that their own 1950 movie so famously glossed over (foot mutilating and eye-gouging for the WIN).

Okay, I’m starting to get into spoiler territory, so TURN BACK if ye value surprise.

I’ll break this up into some categories.

RUMORS OF WATERING DOWN HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED:
- The biggest change to the story is that Rapunzel does not die. I am absolutely behind this change, because a) her not dying doesn’t mean a happy ending, and b) it actually avoids one of the many female deaths in the musical and takes Rapunzel away from the witch in a way that gives them both characterization (and more importantly gives Rapunzel agency).
- Rapunzel’s story also draws something different from the fairy tale. The twins part from the musical is out, but the Prince being blinded and her tears restoring his sight is there instead. Also, she’s banished to a swamp, not a desert, which … eh, whatever.
- A few songs have been cut, but they’re judicious cuts and the story bits of nearly all of them are still there. “Maybe They’re Magic” is out, but the moment is still covered in the dialogue. “Ever After” is out, thank goodness as that’s maybe my least favorite song, but all the information is still there. “Act 2 Prologue” is also out, but it’s not necessary as there’s no intermission and no one needs a recap. The second “Agony” is out (BUT FEAR NOT, THE MAIN ONE IS VERY MUCH IN) and the princes’ being distracted by Snow White and Sleeping Beauty is also out. “No More” is out, which I missed because I love that song, but it would have made no sense without the Mysterious Man (who is not in the film). The melody is in the score, though, and the character moment for the Baker is still there.
- ALL THE OTHER SONGS ARE THERE. Go ahead, check the track listing on iTunes.
- Yes, the Baker’s Wife fools around with Cinderella’s Prince. And sings the song (the duet *and* her solo). And dies.
- No, it’s not a happy Disney ending. It’s a positive, hopeful ending. Just like the musical.

OBLIGATORY STANNING FOR JOHNNY DEPP
- I quite liked his version of the Big Bad Wolf. Yes, I know that if this were a stage production that Chris Pine should have done double duty as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf, but that wouldn’t work in a film.
- I thought it was a GREAT idea to make him not so much a literal wolf (man in a wolf suit would SO not have worked on film) as a man with wolfish properties (somewhat like the werewolves on Supernatural). I think if Prisoner of Azkaban taught us anything it’s that it is frightfully easy to screw up a wolf in a movie. Since they were using a different actor for the Prince, there was no need to cover the Wolf’s face. Also, having him be more human-looking reinforces the molesty vibe of “Hello Little Girl.”

STUFF THAT ACTUALLY IMPROVES ON THE STAGE VERSION
- Yeah, I said it.
- The Prologue and “Into the Woods” theme is infinitely less cringey here. I really loved how they arranged it, especially the end of it, with voices overlapping and counterpoint, in contrast to the straight unison of the stage version.
- Some great visualizations in some of the numbers. When a character is telling a story to another character (“Greens, Greens”, “I Know Things Now”. “Giants in the Sky”) we actually get to see what they’re telling us about. I also loved “On the Steps of the Palace,” where time freezes around Cinderella as she decides what to do.
- “Agony.” OH MY GOD, Y’ALL “AGONY.” It is the cover of a period romance novel come to life! One of my favorite scenes of ANYTHING this year. This alone is worth the ticket price.
- Instead of the Narrator/Mysterious Man combo, the Baker narrates the film, which brings everything together quite beautifully when he begins telling his son the story at the end.
- It’s subtle, but you can really see here how much Rapunzel loves the Witch, which makes her eventual leaving more poignant, because she loved the Witch even when she wasn’t beautiful.

NITPICKS
- “Stay With Me” is beautifully sung and acted, but whoever did the makeup and lighting for this scene dropped the ball. You can totally see the seams in the makeup layers on Mery’s face, which I can’t imagine should have been difficult to make right. Very distracting.
- The child actors are the weak link for me. They do that thing that child actors do, especially ones who have been in Broadway musicals, where they are Trying So Hard To Show You How Awesome (And Not At All Childlike) Their Singing Voice Is. They’re both engaging in their own ways, but still occasionally cloying. Not enough to ruin the movie for me, though, thank goodness.
- There’s a weird moment at the end of the Witch’s transformation. I don’t even really know how to describe it, but it felt weird to me and like something that would have worked better on stage. She’s like reaching towards the sky, like she’s doing “Rose’s Turn” and it’s just … strange.
- The little “I can see you” moment when Rapunzel’s tears restore her Prince’s sight feels a bit rushed.
- The start of “Children Will Listen” is too quiet and you almost don’t notice it’s started. The sound is up a little too long on the Baker telling the story, which means anyone who isn’t familiar with the musical is going to miss the first few lines of the song, which are pretty danged important.

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Loved it and can’t wait to see it again.