Review of Little Voice (1998) by David A — 10 May 2010

(from The Watermark, 02/04/99).

You have got to see this film to believe it. Horrocks plays a withdrawn young girl who barely speaks and is mourning the death of her father. Her favorite thing is to listen to his collection of old records by the great divas of song: Judy Garland, Billie Holliday, Marilyn Monroe, and Shirley Bassey to name a few. Her freakish and abusive mother (Secrets and Lies' Blethyn, chewing the scenery with outrageous ferocity) starts dating a sleazy show-biz manager (Caine, matching Blethyn chew for chew) who overhears Horrocks singing to herself, and is shocked to find the mousy little waif can perfectly emulate all of the great songstresses she worships. He comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme to make the girl a star, even though she has no desire to be famous or even perform at all. (She'd rather be making friends with a geeky phone repairman played by a sweet and charming McGregor.) Horrocks is a great discovery, (TV audiences will recognize her as Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous); she does her own singing and her impressions are dead-on. The film is based on a play which was written specifically for her extraordinary talents, and as a work tailored to showcase a particular performer, it is not too badly written. The only disappointment is that once we see Horrocks perform live, the film can't possibly top itself or its star. It certainly tries, but the ending turns somewhat creepy and the tone of the earlier part of the film doesn't properly prepare us for it. QUEER QUOTIENT: One wonders about her dad's sexual orientation, judging from his obsession with singers who happen to be gay icons. I personally will be the first in line to purchase this gem on video just so I can repeatedly watch Horrocks in action. She is not just a diva -- she is every diva!