Review of In a World... (2013) by Harry W — 12 Apr 2014

In a World... had an interesting trailer which suggested it would be an interesting look at the world of voice acting, and it sounded like something worth seeing to me.

In a World... wasn't as good as I had hoped though.

For the first half of the film, In a World... is largely a directionless story which has random character plot dynamics thrown around the whole time at a repetitive rate until reaching the second point in the story. In a World... is full of too many characters and too many dynamics during the first half which makes it somewhat challenging to keep up with. I mean, I didn't even pick up on the fact that _____ and _____ were sisters until beyond the halfway point. Essentially, In a World... has a high concept story and a theme not commonly dealt with in movies, but it neglects it for the first act of the film in favour of a lot of directionless comedy dynamics which aren't as funny as they should be and simply cause a detraction from the focus of the story. In a World... has issues with keeping itself focused on the main plot and keeps driving it off the predominant storyline so that it can lightly look at other subplots and random dynamics which ends up rendering it a messy and scattered production for the first half. It's a somewhat entertaining one with the best intentions and a few good laughs along the way, but it really needs to keep itself focused which it just fails to do.

In the second half though, the story rests its focus a lot more on protagonist Carol Solomon and the true nature of her relationship with her father Sam Sotto as he comes to terms with a changing world where she is becoming more successful than him. It also resolves the questions about what happened to Dani Solomon and her relationship with Moe and settles the answers to Louis' romantic interest in Carol. The first half of In a World... is a scattered one, but it raises a lot of questions that end up answered in the second half very well. The second act of In a World puts the focus back on track and increases in energy, therefore making up for the issues stemming from its fist half.

In a World... is a strong front for Lake Bell's skills as an actor, writer, director and producer so it is essentially her answer to Citizen Kane. The highlight of what she does for the film would largely be the writing, because the screenplay that she contributes is an intelligent and thought provoking one. It examines complicated relationships between its characters while also viewing the competitive world of voice acting in a manner which is comedically satirical of sports movies. It follows the same kind of formula and is fairly funny throughout due to that as well as the clever script and the performances of the cast.

It is frankly quite impressive that In a World... was crafted on a budget of less than $1 million because the quality of the writing, the acting and the visual style in the film is all very impressive.

In a World manages to escape the limitations of its low budget by filming in a lot of colourful locations, and when I looked back on the film I realised it was mostly done in different apartments and houses while occasionally elsewhere. That slipped by me, but it shows that Lake Bell is able to transcend the limitations of a small budget with her keen eye for good material and sleight of hand as a film director. The entire feature benefits from strong cinematography as well, and a good musical score too.

And when it boils down to it, the cast manage to contribute a very effective effort.

Lake Bell is a name I was not familiar with before seeing In a World..., but after witnessing what she can do as an actress as well as being an effective film director and writer, I must say that I am impressed with her talents. As an actress she is an appealing lead for a lot of reasons. She is attractive with a sort of natural beauty to her, and that reflects her characterisation of Carol Solomon. She portrays the character in a very honest and true fashion which ensures that she deals with all the situations thrown at her with complete honesty. Much of the time this is dramatically effective, and at others it is pretty funny. Really, Lake Bell's lead performance gestures a natural charm and charisma which cannot simply be taught, and she injects it into her performance which makes her an appealing and effective lead, one so well acted that it ensures In a World... never falls into being a self indulgent vanity project. Lake Bell is a refreshing lead in In a World..., and the way she interacts with the rest of the cast is terrific, not to mention the fact that her voice articulation is excellent during the key moments of the film so she is successful in every way.

Fred Melames is a familiar face since I've seen him in bit parts appearing in many other movies and TV series before, but I've never seen him have such a key lead role in a film before. He proves in In a World... that he deserves such a part with a consistently effective and funny performance. The drama surrounding his character is a complicated one as he has a mind which audiences are likely to question due to his strange way of thinking about the world. His articulation of his voice is terrific and his comedic delivery of his lines seems organic and is a product of much entertainment. Fred Melames provides a great performance in In a World... and his chemistry with Lake Bell is simply terrific.

Michaela Watkins manages to give a strong supporting dramatic performance in In a World... through a lot of complicated chemistry with the surrounding actors. She establishes that her character is a troubled one who doesn't have the best way of interacting with other people, and she does it trough a wry introverted performance which faces challenges as the actions of other people and herself start to get to her. Micheala Watkins gives a fair supporting performance.

Demetri Martin is a nice touch as well due to his light comedic neuroticism which has audiences on edge about the future of his relationship with Carol Solomon, and his comedic charm and chemistry with her is just refreshing. It makes the feature a little more compelling and even funnier.

Rob Cordry's small performance also manages to take maximum advantage of his natural comedic charisma and charm which makes him an effective addition to the cast, and his chemistry with Micheala Watkins is terrific. He makes a fine presence in In a World....

Geena Davis' success as a bankable film star has been low ever since her appearance in the massive box office bomb Cutthroat Island, and so she hasn't worked in films that much at all. So it is good to see her returning to cinema again for In a World, and in one of her scenes she delivers a monologue about the importance of women working in cinema and how pseudo-feminism is resulting in a negative effect on the cause. Geena Davis' confident and quick witted delivery of the soliloquy is so strong and meaningful that it is difficult not to feel the effect of what she is saying. As well as talking about why it is important for women to inspire younger women in a world which is arguably more male- dominated, she reminds us about how the world is a lot more image driven and is more obsessed with style over substance. Geena Davis emits a lot of wisdom when she says these lines and it reminds us of the strong skill she has as an actress which won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress many years ago. It is great to see her cinematically active again, and it is nice that Lake Bell saw fit to cast her in a memorable bit part.

So In a World... had a clunky first half to it due to scattered focus, but it seriously picks up in quality during its second act and ends up being a compelling and funny look at the world of voice acting which serves as a front for Lake Bell's talents as a writer, director, producer and actor.