3 out of 4 stars
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Daniel Huttlestone, Lilla Crawford, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Billy Magnussen, Mackenzie Mauzy, Simon Russell Beale
Rated PG for thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material.
124 minutes
Verdict: Entertaining and thoughtful, but far from perfect, INTO THE WOODS is probably not the fairy tale you're looking for, and perhaps more rewarding for that.
YOU MAY ENJOY INTO THE WOODS IF YOU LIKED:
ENCHANTED (2007)
CHICAGO (2002)
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)
THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)
ELLA ENCHANTED (2004)
Walt Disney Pictures is probably more responsible than any other entity for the modern popular perception of fairy tales in the western world. The European folklore that was first widely popularized in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's folk tale collection, Children and Household Tales, stories like "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Rapunzel", were dark and occasionally quite violent morality tales with sometimes questionable morals. When the Disney studios took to adapting such fairy tales into feature animated films like SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937), CINDERELLA (1950) and SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959), practically each adapted story, and the idea of fairy tales themselves became defined by the Disney version. Fairy tales are supposed to be kid-friendly, maybe just a little bit scary, but neatly resolved with a "happily ever after", or what we sometimes call a "fairy tale ending." So Disney fans who turn out for the studio's latest offering, INTO THE WOODS, expecting a Disney fairy tale will probably be disappointed, because it's not Disney's fairy tale. Adapted from the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical of the same name, this is more a Sondheim fairy tale than anything else, while also re-injecting a lot of Grimm.
The story is comprised of characters and events from multiple well-known fairy tales, intermingling with one another as they each pursue fulfillment of their own individual wishes with single-mindedness. The Baker (James Corden) and the Baker's Wife (Emily Blunt) are a couple who wish for nothing more than to have a child of their own, but are barren thanks to a Witch's (Meryl Streep) curse, which the Witch has given them three midnights to undo by collecting a list of particular items for her. Venturing into the woods to find the Witch's requests, the Baker and his Wife encounter an assortment of other wishers and dreamers who have entered into the woods for some purpose or other. Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) is a poor boy forced to sell his best friend, a cow; Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) is a gluttonous girl on her way to visit her sick grandmother, but crosses paths with a genteel but lascivious Big Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp) along the way; Cinderella is a scullery maid who lives with her cruel Stepmother (Christine Baranski) but sneak away to dance with the Prince (Chris Pine) at the royal ball, despite remaining indecisive about what it is she really wants; and finally, there's Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), the adopted (or, shall we say, kidnapped?) daughter the Witch keeps locked away in a tower with her ridiculously long golden hair, but who has recently met a different Prince (Billy Magnussen) and is planning to leave with him.
The fairy tales all generally play out the way you may already know them, but that's not the end, a twist at the heart of the movie, that also has the unfortunate side effect of make the movie feel overlong. If you saw the play on the stage, there would be an intermission at that particular point, but as a movie, the two distinct halves are tied together at the center, so it feels like two movies. It's jarring and less than ideal, but it helps that the second half brings about much of the most interesting stuff in the story. The split between the darkly quirky but fun first half and the almost comically apocalyptic/pessimistic second half is what it is, but the use of the narrator is a particularly blatant misfire. While a narrator isn't entirely uncalled for, the execution is very poor, narrating many things that don't require it and feeling very out of step with the rest of the movie.
Director Rob Marshall is best known for his first theatrically-released film, CHICAGO (2002), and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011), and even if it isn't saying much, INTO THE WOODS is his best film in a good while. There are the occasional bold choices, but on the whole, it shows a great deal of directorial restraint, while the performances and songs take nearly all the heavy lifting. With the exception of Lilla Crawford (in her screen debut, but previously known for playing the eponymous character in the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie) as Little Red Riding Hood, who constantly struggles to find a balance between an annoying character and an annoying performance, the cast is first rate. Streep is obviously marvelous as the nasty but highly sympathetic crone, and while most of her inevitable awards nominations will be more because she's Meryl Streep than for this particular performance, that doesn't mean the recognition isn't deserved. Blunt as the Baker's Wife is also a ton of fun; funny, sad, sweet and ruthless in her pursuit of motherhood, but then left with the questions that come with it afterward. Depp has been in a real rut lately, playing dress-up without anyone to offer a helpful 'no' every once in a while on his past several movies, but in the flashy but brief role of the Big Bad Wolf, he's delightful- as far as thinly-veiled sexual predators who ooze charm go. The real surprise is Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, who we already know can be the charming, charismatic bad boy, but he can also belt a show tune with the best of them, which he does in the film's best musical number, "Agony", in which the two princes lament competitively over their heartaches. Sondheim's tunes are mostly unmemorable, but his lyrics are amusingly witty and thoughtful, and the songs lend themselves to the performances, rather than overshadowing them. It's never amazing in a mind-blowing way, but the pieces come together and support each other in a solid movie that's rewarding and thought-provoking. The film, PG-rated with a Disney logo, is clearly directed at families though, and those with young children or who are otherwise expecting a fairy tale ending ought to give it some thought ahead of time.
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