NEWISH BLOOD (HULU/AMAZON PRIME): VOICES

VOICES
Lionsgate
2014 Color
103 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, Gemma Armeton and Jacki Weaver star.
Written by Michael R. Perry
Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

I really wanted to love The Voices. All the elements seemed to be there but I had an underlying feeling after seeing the trailer it wouldn't blend as well as I would have hoped. Well my suspicions were correct. The Voices is by no means a bad movie and it has so many great elements, it just never decides on what it really wants to be. The film centers around Jerry played by a wonderful Ryan Reynolds. He's a shy guy, a little bit of recluse, nice with very little social skills. His best friends are his cat and dog who talk to him. The cat of course is instructing him to do very bad things, while the dog tries to lean him in the opposite direction. All goes south when his crush refuses his advances and things begin to get very grisly. What follows is a strange blend of whimsical comedy, dark humor and just oddity. The performance from the gorgeous Reynolds is solid. His Jerry has a surprising amount of emotional depth and it's a treat to watch the actor show a wide range while dealing with self imposed circumstances. The problem here is the direction. All though there are so many inspired touches, the movie has the potential to be a truly great, unique film instead it feels messy and a little unfocused at times making for an intriguing but ultimately generic experience. Some smarter choices would have held the film in it's fantasy state until it's final moments instead of inserting spurts throughout. It's a bit disrupting and keeps you from being immersed by the proceedings. In the positive the film is colorful and most of the humor hits. The performance from Reynolds is inspired but I feel as an actor he still lacks the commitment to get really ugly when need be. Not that I'm complaining he's built like a greek god. That being said The best part of the Voices are the musical credits after the film ends they are a potent reminder of the potential the film had but never truly achieved.
**.5/5