Set in the 1950s, the film follows a wealthy industrialist who has named his only daughter as his sole heir as the two along with a tutor traveling around the fictional European country of Phoenicia to deal with various investors over money, he skimmed over to salvage a project that he hopes would help Phoenicia. It is a film that explores a man who had been through many near-death experiences involving plane crashes and assassination attempts on his life where he decides to bring his eldest child into the fold even though she is about to become a nun as she is reluctant to take part in his criminal activities. Wes Anderson’s screenplay has a narrative that is straightforward with some strange yet surreal sequences that involves its protagonist Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) often visiting the afterlife following every near-death experience. These events forces him to name his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir as he has 10 other sons who are all adolescent and unable to help Korda in his schemes. Joining them on this trip through Phoenicia is a Norwegian entomologist in Bjorn (Michael Cera) whom Korda hired as a tutor in his own increasing interest in insects.
The script also has a unique structure into the group of people that Korda has to meet to cover his losses that includes a consortium led by two American brothers in Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), the heir to Phoenicia in Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), a French nightclub owner in Marseille Bob (Mathieu Almaric), an American investor in Marty (Jeffrey Wright), Korda’s second-cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and his half-brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) whom Korda believes killed Liesl’s mother many years ago. Korda would endure a series of challenges and events upon his journey as it would play into a character arc of his own as a man that is constantly dealing with assassins trying to kill him and other things while he gets to know Liesl. Liesl would have an arc of her own while also revealing her own quirks such as the fact that she carries a dagger and smokes with a pipe. Notably as she gains a view of the world though remains committed to her faith and becoming a nun. Bjorn is a character that is full of intrigue as he is fascinated by Liesl while he is also ambiguous in the things he talks about while often surrounds himself with insects as they fascinate him. The film also has a subplot relating to a government agent led by Excaliber (Rupert Friend) who is tailing Korda and his activities in the hope of disrupting everything for Korda.
Anderson’s direction is entrancing as it does play into his stylish usage of symmetrical compositions and diligence to everything he captures on film. Shot on location at the Babelsberg Studio in Germany and in a 1:48:1 aspect ratio format that is an unconventional presentation that is atypical with a lot of films. Anderson does maintain some unique compositions in some of the wide shots he creates to play into the fictional country of Phoenicia as it is a country between Europe and the Middle East. Anderson does maintain some stylish framing in the way he puts his actors in a medium shot or a close-up along with some intricate tracking shots where characters would move from one room to another. Anderson’s presentation of the scenes set in the afterlife are shot in black-and-white as there is an element of surrealism where Korda meet some people including his first wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a young Liesl (Beatrice Campbell) and a few others as it plays into his own brush with death.
The film also plays into the ideas of faith as it relates to Liesl who often prays during her journey while the sequence in which Korda meets with Bob at his nightclub that is being robbed by Communist revolutionaries led by Sergio (Richard Ayoade) as Korda, Liesl, and Bjorn would meet them again as they are all Atheists. There is a humorous take in how Anderson presents Atheism as it would help play in both Korda and Liesl’s character arcs as it relates to faith. Notably the former whose encounters with the afterlife through his near-death experiences forces him to contend with his own existence. The film’s climax relates to the final meetings with those he counted upon to help him save the project as well as confront Uncle Nubar who is the last investor who is also ambiguous into answering Liesl’s own questions about her mother. It would be followed by a ridiculous fight scene as well as other outlandish things followed by an epilogue that plays into the fate of Phoenicia, its project, and those close to Korda. Overall, Anderson crafts an evocative and enchanting film about a business tycoon trying to make amends with his estranged empire to save his criminal empire.
Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting for interior scenes in the day and night as well as in the way some of the exterior scenes are lit including scenes at night such as a scene inside a crashed airplane with the usage of lamps and available light. Editor Barney Pilling, with additional work from Andrew Weisblum, does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion shots, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense, action, and humor also knowing when to have shots linger on for around a minute. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with set decorator Anna Pinnock plus art directors Marc Bitz, Neneh Lucia, Anja Muller, Esther Schreiner, and Mariana Vasconcellos, does brilliant work with the look of the Korda estate, the unfinished train tunnel, and other places including interiors of the planes that Korda flies in as it is a highlight of the film. Costume designer Milena Canonero does amazing work with the costumes in the design of the suits that Korda and Bjorn wears as well as the nun outfit that Liesl wears and the clothes of some of the other characters including the sweatpants and shoes that Leland and Reagan wear.
Hair/makeup designer Heike Merker and prosthetics designer Mark Coulier do terrific work with the look of the characters in the hairstyles that Liesl and Bjorn have as well as the big beard that Uncle Nubar has. Special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, along with visual effects supervisors Craig Crawford and Steve Murgatroyd, does fantastic work with the look of some of the models and miniatures used in the film along with a few bits of visual effects as set dressing. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in the way planes sound from the inside as well as the sounds of certain objects including weapons. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is wonderful for its low-key piano-based orchestral score that plays into the suspense and drama with some soft percussive and a low-key string arrangement to play into some dangerous scenes. Music supervisor Randall Poster cultivated a soundtrack that features classical music pieces from Igor Stravinsky, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Modest Mussorgsky as well as music from Gene Krupa and Dizzy Gillespie.
The film’s casting by Douglas Aibel is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Beatrice Campbell as a young Liesl, Donald Sumpter as a chairman that Excaliber works for, Alex Jennings as Korda’s butler, Jason Watkins as Korda’s attorney, Stephen Park as Korda’s pilot, and in the roles of Korda’s 10 adolescent sons in Edward Hyland, Ogden Dawson, Kit Rakusen, Milo James, Hector Bateman-Harden, Benjamin Lake, Gunes Taner, Gabriel Ryan, Mohamad Momo Ramadan, and Jonathan Wirtz. Other notable small roles as figures of people that Korda sees in the afterlife include Charlotte Gainsbourg as Korda’s first wife, Willem Dafoe as an attorney in Knave, F. Murray Abraham as a prophet, and Bill Murray as God. Hope Davis is fantastic as the Mother Superior who arrives in the film’s third function as Liesl’s mentor who learns about Liesl’s journey as well as getting to know Korda where she decides to join him in his own scheme for the good of Phoenicia.
Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston are superb in their respective roles as the brothers Leland and Reagan as two American investors who are upset over their own financial loss as they would settle this dispute through a game of horse where Hanks and Cranston display their skills in the game. Riz Ahmed and Richard Ayoade are excellent in their respective roles as the Phoenician heir Prince Farouk and the guerilla leader Sergio with the former being an investor who believes that Korda will do good while the latter is a Communist revolutionary who decides to join Korda in the film’s third act in dealing with enemies of Korda. Rupert Friend and Mathieu Almaric are brilliant in their respective roles as the bureaucratic Excaliber and the nightclub owner Marseille Bob with the former being a government agent trying to disrupt Korda’s activities and the latter being another investor who has issues with what Korda wants only for his encounter with Sergio changes everything.
Jeffrey Wright and Scarlett Johansson are amazing in their respective roles as the American investor Marty and Cousin Hilda with the former being an investor who is also upset over what Korda wants while the latter is Korda’s second cousin who is unsure about wanting to marry Korda to save his business as she is also trying to handle things for herself. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as Uncle Nubar as Korda’s half-brother who is also an investor yet remains mysterious in his own dealings while is also unwilling to answer questions about the death of Liesl’s mother. Michael Cera is incredible as Bjorn as a Norwegian entomologist who is hired as a tutor for Korda while also being an administrative assistant where he is full of humor and intrigue as he is also someone that is fascinated by Liesl.
Mia Threapleton is tremendous in a break-out performance as Liesl as Korda’s estranged daughter who is becoming a nun as she is reluctant to join her father on a trip through Phoenicia where she gets to see many wonders of the world while also being someone who smokes a pipe and carries a dagger where she has quirks of her own like her father. Finally, there is Benicio del Toro in a phenomenal performance as Zsa-Zsa Korda as a business tycoon who has created schemes to swindle people out of money where he is ruthless in his pursuits until a series of near-death experiences forces him to make some changes in saving a project for the country of Phoenicia where he gains some insights about the ways of the world. It is a witty performance from del Toro who brings a lot of complexities of a man with irredeemable qualities, yet he puts in things that would make him redeemable during his journey as he also has some amazing low-key chemistry with Threapleton.
The Phoenician Scheme is a sensational film by Wes Anderson that features a great leading performance from Benicio del Toro and a major discovery in Mia Threapleton. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, a sumptuous music soundtrack, and a story of redemption and meaning amidst bad decisions and near-death experiences. The film is an offbeat yet compelling film that does mark a newfound maturity from Anderson in its exploration of family dysfunction as well as characters trying to find redemption from their bad habits. In the end, The Phoenician Scheme is a phenomenal film by Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - The Rat Catcher - Poison (2023 short) - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City) – (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) – (The Phoenician Scheme)
© thevoid99 2023
Based on the short story by Roald Dahl, The Rat Catcher is the story of a reporter and a mechanic who follows an exterminator and learns about his methods in catching a rat. Written for the screen and directed by Wes Anderson, the short film is the third film in a series of adaptations of short stories by Dahl where it explores a man’s unconventional approach to catching rats. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Eliel Ford, Benoit Herlin, and Till Sennhenn. The Rat Catcher is an exhilarating and haunting film by Wes Anderson.
The 18-minute short film revolves around a rat catcher who is asked to catch some rats for a reporter and a mechanic in a small English town as they deal with his methods. It is a film told through a reporter (Richard Ayoade) who talks about meeting this rat catcher (Ralph Fiennes) who has these unconventional methods in catching rats where the reporter and a mechanic (Rupert Friend) watch as they are baffled by this man’s unconventional methods. The script is straightforward in its narrative while it plays into these two men who are fascinated and later troubled by the methods of this rat catcher. Notably as he reveals things in what he does to catch rats as well as his own thoughts that eventually become off-putting to the two men.
Anderson’s direction is straightforward in its presentation as it is shot on location at Maidstone Studios in Kent, England where Anderson maintains a meticulous approach to detail in the overall setting. Shot in a 1:33:1 aspect ratio, Anderson would use some wide shots to get a scope in a few shots in the location including a haybale where the rat catcher would try to trap rats. Still, much of the direction has Anderson utilizing close-ups and medium shots including a brief stop-motion animated sequence involving a rat that would lead to a sequence in which the rat catcher and the mechanic pretending to be a rat have a showdown. Anderson still brings in some offbeat humor including a brief appearance of Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) who comments on the methods of the rat catcher as well as some troubling revelations as it relates to rats. Overall, Anderson crafts a whimsical yet chilling film about a rat catcher and his unconventional methods of catching rats.
Cinematographer Robert Yeoman does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on yellowish colors to heighten some of the exteriors while using some low-key lighting for the fight scene between the rat catcher and the rat. Editor Barney Pilling and Andrew Weisblum do excellent work with the editing as there are some jump-cuts in a few scenes including the fight while much of it is straightforward to play into its humor and drama. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, along with art director Claire Peerless plus set decorators Cathy Featherstone and Anna Pinnock, does amazing work with the sets including the buildings that both the reporter and mechanic work at as well as some backdrops and the design of the hay bale. Costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone does fantastic work with the costumes as it is straightforward in the suit that the reporter wears as well as the jumpsuit the mechanic wears.
Hair/makeup designer Frances Hannon does incredible work with the look of the rat catcher with his contact lenses, long fingernails, and long hair as he looks like a rat. Special effects supervisor Chris Reynolds does nice work with the film’s minimal visual effects that plays into the film’s lone stop-motion animated sequence involving the rat. Sound mixer Valentino Gianni does superb work with the sound in capturing the natural elements on set as well as the way a rat would sound from afar or up-close.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast features some notable small roles from Eliel Ford, Benoit Herlin, and Till Sennhenn as stagehands who appear to bring in props or costumes. Rupert Friend is excellent as the mechanic who is fascinated by the rat catcher’s methods though is later troubled by them as well as playing the rat for the fight scene. Richard Ayoade is brilliant as the reporter who is also the film’s narrator as he observes everything the rat catcher does while also becoming uncomfortable with the rat catcher’s methods. Finally, there’s Ralph Fiennes in an incredible performance in a dual role as the titular character and Roald Dahl where he brings a northern accent in the former along with some exaggerated facial expressions where it is comical and eerie at times while he is more subdued in the latter.
The Rat Catcher is a phenomenal film by Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, and a story of two men observing the actions of a rat catcher. It is an offbeat yet engaging short film that explores a man’s method of catching rats as well as some troubling revelations about what he does. In the end, The Rat Catcher is a sensational film from Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited
- Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - Poison – The Phoenician Scheme - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City)
© thevoid99 2024
The film is the simple story of a rich man who discovers a book about a doctor’s report on a guru who can see things without his eyes where the man hopes to master this skill to cheat at gambling. It is a film told in a multilayered style as it is told through different characters with Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) doing the narration as well as how he authored this story with claims that it is based on a real man. Notably as the titular character (Benedict Cumberbatch) was at an event bored where he walked to the library where he discovered this book written by Dr. Chatterjee (Dev Patel) who recounts his meeting with a circus performer in Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley) who asked to be blindfolded for an upcoming performance. Dr. Chatterjee and his colleague Dr. Marshall (Richard Ayoade) would ask Khan these questions about where he learned this trade where Khan would tell the story of how he met this guru (Richard Ayoade) as it plays into Henry Sugar’s obsession to learn this skill, yet it would succeed in learning it, but its aftermath would prove to be unfulfilling.
Wes Anderson’s direction plays in a style that includes a lot of static shots and so much mindfulness in the setting where it does feel like the fourth wall is broken. Shot on location at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, England, Anderson’s usage of un-broken long shots, unique camera angles, and sets being moved from set to another adds to this unconventional presentation where characters narrate this story and the layers upon which it plays into Sugar’s newfound obsession. While the film is shot in a 1:33:1 full-frame aspect ratio on 16mm film to maintain an intimate style while still using some wide shots. Anderson’s usage of medium shots and close-ups do add to the sense of whimsy as well as intrigue into whether these stories were true as the characters would talk to the camera to play into this ambiguity with actors also playing multiple roles. It would all play into this journey of a rich yet lonely man who wants more money and wealth, yet it is through this skill to see things without his eyes that would reveal so much more than what wealth can offer to him. Overall, Anderson crafts a delightful and rapturous film about a rich man’s discovery of a secret skill that can make him wealthier.
Cinematographer Robert Yeomen does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of vibrant colors and heightened lighting for some of the daytime exteriors as well as stylish lights and low-key lights for some scenes at night. Editors Barney Pilling and Andrew Weisblum do excellent work with the editing as it has a few jump-cuts while a lot of it is straightforward in its cutting in allowing shots to linger for a few minutes. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with supervising art director Kevin Timon Hill plus set decorators Cathy Featherstone and Anna Pinnock, does brilliant work with the look of the sets in the interiors of Sugar’s home, the hospital in India, and some of the backdrops created for Khan’s story. Costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone does fantastic work with the costumes in the posh clothing that Sugar wears as well as the different clothing that Dahl and other characters wear.
Hair/makeup designer Frances Hannon does amazing work with the hair/makeup design in the different looks that the characters would have included Sugar late in the film. Special effects supervisor Chris Reynolds, along with visual effects supervisors Jep Hill, David Lebensfeld, Tim Ledbury, and Grant Miller, does terrific work with the special effects in some of the backdrops with some little mechanical animation in the background and rear projection in a few bits. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound as it plays into some of the natural sound effects as well as some sound effects created to play into the environment the characters are in. Music supervisor Randall Poster creates a wonderful soundtrack that consists of a classical music piece that is played sparingly in parts of the film.
The film’s ensemble cast features a few small appearances from Jarvis Cocker in various roles as friends of Sugar as well as a casino receptionist and David Gant as a casino croupier. Richard Ayoade is excellent in a dual role as Dr. Marshall who assists Dr. Chatterjee in his study of Khan as well as the Great Yogi who would teach Khan this trick to see things without his eyes. Dev Patel is amazing in a dual role as Dr. Chatterjee who is fascinated by Khan’s story where he would author the book that Sugar would read and as Sugar’s family accountant John Winston who would oversee Sugar’s business later in the film. Ben Kingsley is brilliant in a dual role as the circus performer Imdad Khan who would gain fame through a trick in seeing things without his eyes where he presents himself in a calm manner and in another role as a casino blackjack dealer.
Ralph Fiennes is incredible in a dual role as Roald Dahl as the man who revealed how learned this story about Henry Sugar and his meetings with him and in a small role as a policeman who is upset with an incident that Sugar causes. Finally, there’s Benedict Cumberbatch in a phenomenal dual performance as the titular character who is this wealthy man that becomes obsessed in learning this skill so he can win at gambling only to gain something even more fulfilling while Cumberbatch also plays a small role as a makeup artist who works for Sugar later in the film.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a tremendous film by Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, wondrous visuals, and an inventive screenplay. It is a short film that takes one of Roald Dahl’s overlooked short stories and turns into a story of a man’s obsession in a story he read only to find something far more valuable than what he originally intended to use with this skill he discovered. In the end, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a spectacular film from Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Swan – The Rat Catcher – Poison – The Phoenician Scheme - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City)
© thevoid99 2024
The film revolves around a middle school music teacher trying to get back to his body after falling down a manhole where he ventures into a world where he meets a young soul that isn’t eager to go to Earth where he shows this young soul what it means to live. It’s a film with a unique premise as it plays into this man who is given the chance of a lifetime to play for a prestigious jazz band in New York City as it’s something he always dreamed of yet the excitement of passing the audition has him falling down this manhole. The film’s screenplay by Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, and Mike Jones do play into this long-held desire that Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) has in wanting to be a jazz pianist ever since he was a teenager but chooses to be a middle school teacher in order to pay the bills as he is reluctant to go full-time. A former student who is playing drums for the respected and revered jazz musician Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) would get Gardner to audition for her as he passes and then falls into a manhole.
That’s only the first few minutes of the film as the script plays more into the exploration of what it means to live as well as what defines a soul where Joe is supposed to go into the Great Beyond where those who have passed are meant to go but Joe refuses as he finds himself in the Great Before. The Great Before is a place where unborn souls are there to find personalities and everything else that would define them before they enter Earth as Joe is mistaken for an instructor who is given the task to mentor an unwilling soul named 22 (Tina Fey). 22 is a character who had been given many mentors including Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, Mother Teresa, and many others but none have been able to get through to her about what it means to live as Joe shows her some of the simple ideas including music as they’re aided by a strange mystic known as Moonwind (Graham Norton) to help her out as well as take her to the place of lost souls whom he rescues.
The direction of Pete Docter, with additional contributions by Kemp Powers who is credited as a co-director, does create these massive set pieces in a world that is based on reality that is New York City but also this strange reality that is the Great Beyond, the Great Before, and other worlds where lost souls are recovered. With the help of animation directors Jaime Landes Roe, Gini Cruz Santos, and Royce Wesley, the world that Joe encounters are presented in different styles as the look of New York City as well as some of the places Joe go to each have their own sense of style that has an air of realism but also some beauty thanks to the contributions of the film’s cinematographers Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben who help create unique lighting schemes in the way rooms are lit in the day and night with production designer Steve Pilcher, along with art directors Paul Abadilla and Tim Evatt, and visual effects supervisor Michael Fong in the creation of the Great Before with its vibrant colors and the world of lost souls that is dark and colorless. The scenes in the Great Before feature characters in these counselors who are called Jerry as they’re presented in this traditional hand-drawn animation style that is unique but also has these offbeat personalities that adds to some of the surreal elements that Joe and 22 encounter.
Docter and Powers also create the subplot as it relates to an accountant named Terry (Rachel House) who always count on those who die and are set to the Great Beyond as she notices that the count is off as it relates to Joe not going to the Great Beyond. The film’s second act is about Joe showing 22 the ideas of living where 22 would experience things that add to the joys of life through simple pleasures and encounters. Docter and Powers provide these moments that definitely echo some of ideas of pure cinema as well as surrealism in its third act as it relates to 22’s journey in trying to find her spark that would allow her to go to Earth and live. Yet, it forces Joe to have some revelations about his own life and his own pursuits of being a jazz musician as he has to help 22 to not only find her own purpose in life but also in just living for the moment and enjoy it. Overall, Docter and Powers create a rich and rapturous film about a music school teacher trying to show a young soul the pleasures and meaning of life.
Editor Kevin Nolting does brilliant work with the editing as it play into some of the humor as well as some of the drama as there is a rhythm to the cutting in its presentation of the music but also in some of the surreal elements of the film. Sound editor Coya Elliott and sound designer Ren Klyce do amazing work in the sound in some of the sound effects that are created as well as the natural sounds of certain locations and how certain objects sound in the things 22 encounters. The film’s jazz music soundtrack by Jon Batiste is incredible in the way it plays into Joe’s life and sense of improvisation in how life works while the electronic music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for scenes in the Great Beyond and the Great Before is probably the major highlight of the film with its mixture of ambient, throbbing electronics, and discordant industrial textures that adds to the mystical and suspenseful elements of those worlds while its music soundtrack also include pieces from Daveed Diggs, Cody ChestnuTT, Bob Dylan, a cover of the Impressions’ It’s All Right performed by Batiste, and jazz pieces from Walter Norris, Duke Pearson, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck.
The casting by Natalie Lyon and Kevin Reher is superb as it feature voice appearances and cameos from Pixar regular John Ratzenberger as a subway passenger, Sakina Jeffrey as a doctor, Laura Mooney as a therapy cat owner, Cora Champommier as one of Joe’s students who gets lost in playing the trombone, Margo Hall and Rhodessa Jones as a couple of Joe’s mother’s co-workers, June Squibb as a soul that Joe meets who is about to enter the Great Beyond, Cody ChestnuTT as a subway performer, Daveed Diggs as a frenemy of Joe’s in Paul, Wes Studi, Fortune Feimester, and Zenobia Shroff as soul counselors named Jerry, and Donnell Rawlings as Joe’s barber Dez who has some unique views about life and what he could’ve done but is content with what he’s doing. Angela Bassett is fantastic as the revered jazz musician Dorothea Williams as a saxophonist/band leader who is hoping that Joe gives her what she wants while Questlove is excellent as Joe’s former student Curly who plays drums for Williams and gets Joe the chance to audition for her. Phylicia Rashad is brilliant as Joe’s mother Libba as a seamstress who wants Joe to accept the full-time teaching job and not go after his dream of being a musician knowing what his father had tried to do for years.
Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade are amazing as two soul counselors in the Great Before both called Jerry as Braga is more informative and witty while Ayoade is the funnier one. Rachel House is incredible as the soul counter Terry as an accountant who makes sure the count is precise on those who go to the Great Beyond as she becomes intent on finding Joe. Graham Norton is marvelous as Moonwind who works as a human being sign twirler by day yet is a soul who captures lost souls in the lost world and gets them back as Norton provides a comical and offbeat approach to his character who sails on a ship to the music of Bob Dylan. Tina Fey is phenomenal as 22 as a cynical soul who isn’t eager to go to Earth as she likes to mess with other souls though she reluctantly let Joe mentor her where she realizes that there are things she might want to experience. Finally, there’s Jamie Foxx in a sensational performance as Joe Gardner as a middle-school music teacher who dreams of being a jazz musician and play in a jazz band as he deals with being in a mystical world and to try and guide a young soul about the pleasures of life as he begins to question about aspects of his own life in this endearing voice performance.
Soul is an outstanding film from Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. Featuring a great ensemble voice cast, gorgeous visuals, engaging themes of existential and what makes life worth living, and an exhilarating music score from Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross. It’s a film that isn’t just engaging and full of wit but it’s also a film that allows its audience to understand the ideas of life and what it means to live and enjoy it without trying to be heavy-handed nor be overly-intellectual. In the end, Soul is a magnificent film from Pete Docter and Kemp Powers.
Pixar Films: Toy Story - A Bug's Life - Toy Story 2 - (Monsters Inc.) – (Finding Nemo) – The Incredibles - Cars - Ratatouille - WALL-E - Up - Toy Story 3 - Cars 2 - Brave - Monsters University - Inside Out - The Good Dinosaur - (Finding Dory) – (Cars 3) – Coco - The Incredibles 2 - Toy Story 4 - (Onward) - (Luca (2021 film)) - Turning Red - (Lightyear) - (Elemental (2023 film)) - Inside Out 2 - (Elio) – (Toy Story 5)
© thevoid99 2021
