MOVIE REVIEW
“Into the woods”
Grade: B
Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine and Emily Blunt. Directed by Rob Marshall.
Rated: PG for thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material. Check listings for theaters. 2 hours, 4 minutes.
Bottom line: A musical adaptation that succeeds
The journey from stage to screen has been a remarkably long one for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.”
The comedic musical drama first began its transition from Broadway (where it opened in 1987) to the big screen over 20 years ago, languishing in development before finally being taken up, appropriately enough, by director Rob Marshall, whose 2002 Oscar winning adaptation of “Chicago” kickstarted Hollywood’s ongoing renewed affection for musicals.
That lengthy gestation period allows “Into the Woods,” a meta-mash-up of Grimm Brothers fairy tales from a decidedly ironic yet sentimental viewpoint, to arrive in theaters amid a flurry of fantastical franchises dominating the box office.
The story setting “Woods’” plot in motion is the stuff of a thousand fables: A childless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) discover a curse upon their house, cast by a vindictive witch (Meryl Streep), who reveals that the curse can be reversed with the acquisition of four special, specific items.
Tasked with tracking said items down in three days’ time, the baker and his wife set off for the forest, where they cross paths with a slew of fairy tale familiars: Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford); Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) and Jack, of “and the Beanstalk” fame (Daniel Huttlestone), among others.
The plot twists and turns, upending expectations and showcasing Sondheim’s trademark time signature shifts, which the glittering cast mostly handles with aplomb. Corden, Blunt, Kendrick and Streep (her rendition of “Stay With Me” is a heartbreaking showstopper) handle the bulk of the singing, and each rises to the considerable challenge of the knotty lyrics.
Lapine adapted his musical book for the film, and Marshall’s restless staging — there are long stretches where the shadows swallow all the action — can occasionally make “Woods” feel more grim and manic than it really is.
Despite marketing suggesting otherwise, parents toting children to the film might be caught somewhat off-guard by “Into the Woods’” occasionally bleak tone, particularly in the film’s second half.
Still, the intrusion of “real life” into fantasy feels particularly timely, in an age of paranoia, unrest and terror abroad — acknowledging that reality always awaits after every story’s end gives the finale a surprising emotional wallop.
Marshall’s cinematic adapation aims to find the feeling behind the fables, and largely succeeds, making these Woods rather lovely, dark and deep.
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