IMDb > Little Voice (1998)
Little Voice
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Little Voice (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   8,001 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 347% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Jim Cartwright (play)
Mark Herman (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Little Voice on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 December 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Finding your own voice can be magic. more
Plot:
The pathetically shy LV lives the life of a recluse listening to her late fathers old records in her room and in the process driving her abusive... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 22 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Hugh Grant Gets Animated with Britney
 (From WENN. 14 November 2002)

Jane's Trick For Getting Into Character
 (From WENN. 2 October 2000)

User Comments:
a review for American audiences more (150 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Brenda Blethyn ... Mari Hoff

Jane Horrocks ... LV

Ewan McGregor ... Billy

Philip Jackson ... George
Annette Badland ... Sadie

Michael Caine ... Ray Say

Jim Broadbent ... Mr. Boo

Adam Fogerty ... Bouncer
James Welsh ... Bouncer
Karen Gregory ... Stripper
Fred Feast ... Arthur
Graham Turner ... LV's Dad
George Oliver ... Pawnbroker
Virgil Tracy ... Loan Advisor
Dick Van Winkle ... Money Lender
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (UK) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for language and brief nudity.
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mike Reid turned down a role. more
Quotes:
Billy: But when you see 'um fly and better yet, come back well... It's dead exciting! more
Movie Connections:
Features "The Judy Garland Show" (1963) more
Soundtrack:
The Man that Got Away more

FAQ

What is LV's real name?
more
13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful.
a review for American audiences, 12 February 2001
10/10
Author: mattgenne (mattgenne@gmail.com) from Brooklyn, New York

An absorbing, fanciful, and sometimes astonishing film, Little Voice is a modern fairy tale that owes a bit to both pop psychology and, of all things, the musical Annie. The film thrusts us into the peculiarly flawed world of a young woman still living in her childhood home. Her nickname, LV (Little Voice) is pronounced in her mother's thick, northern English accent as "Elvie." In fact, her chief problem is her caustic mother, played with tragicomic skill by Brenda Blethyn, who received an Oscar nomination for the role.

Blethyn's Mrs. Hoff is in many ways like the awful Miss Hannigan of Annie's orphanage, who, were it not for the story's overall comic mood, would be overwhelmingly evil. Instead, Blethyn invests the role with a horny rowdiness that helps dilute Mrs. Hoff's self-absorption and cruelty. LV, in response, confines herself to her tidy, attic bedroom in her mother's otherwise cluttered house.

Though the timid and virtually silent LV lacks Annie's cheerful spunk, both yearn for their absent parents-LV for her dead father, who appears to her, soundless and gentle, whenever she is frightened.

But what LV usually does in response to her mother's constant stream of verbal abuse and generally noisy demeanor is to play her father's cherished record collection at top volume. It is in the voices of the women on the records that LV communicates with her mother and most other people. Though Jane Horrocks says little in the title role, when LV does make noise, it is in remarkable, pitch-perfect imitation of these women, namely, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, and even Marilyn Monroe. At first, I was convinced that this was a lip-synch, but Horrocks changes the tempo and inflection to match LV's mood. Indeed, the first thing that appears in the credits at the conclusion of Little Voice is a note that Horrocks sang all of LV's vocal performances. Wow.

Little Voice will remind American audiences of the recent trend in British cinema that embraces down-on-their-luck characters from the UK's industrial north and the shuns the charmless folk who populate Merchant-Ivory-esque period dramas. Little Voice's characters reminded me of both the pitiable unemployed steelworkers of The Full Monty and the rotten Scottish heroin addicts of Trainspotting. Michael Caine combines these comic and serious elements into a convincing performance as Ray, the seedy promoter who wishes to cash in on LV's extraordinary gift. Caine is the foxy Honest John to LV's Pinocchio, and typifies the sense of desperate amorality such characters face when they have pawned their goods and their limbs in order to bankroll a reckless scheme.

With its quirky characterizations and working-class English setting, Little Voice may not be for everyone, but the film's story is timeless, the performances are energetic, and Horrocks's singing might just knock you out of your seat. Little Voice is a truly gratifying film.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Little Voice (1998)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Jane Horrocks Dream A Little Dream Of Me Video :-) cyberax-1
Jane done all her own singing angelicpunk88
Film Clips lewthewho
whole big yelling scene at the end? chocolatechip07
What a wonderful film. Joshf84
what is the song that michael caine sings bluefarie29
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