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Little Voice (1998)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
December 5th, 2007
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'Little Voice' is a showcase for the amazing vocal talents of Jane Horrocks, who can do perfect impersonations of famed female crooners, from Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey, even Marilyn Monroe. These renditions are flawless, in fact, so flawless that the movie must remind us that Horrocks does her own singing, and that she doesn't lip-sync, which is probably what most would think when they watch her perform a variety of musical standards, especially Over the Rainbow. Her character here is (nick)named LV, because she speaks softly and often with a squeak, when she chooses to speak at all. She is an extremely shy recluse, who sits in her bedroom and listens to old records her beloved father kept in his store, which is no longer in business. She lives with her loud, boozy, obnoxious mother, Mari (Blethyn), who hits the bars every night, hoping to pick up men.
Her newest boyfriend is Ray Say (Michael Caine), in debt and on the lookout for people he can turn into celebrities, and it doesn't take him long to realize LV's potential for fame and fortune, more for him than for her. Ray starts off nicely enough, coaxing LV into performing at a club owned by his friend, Mr. Boo (Broadbent), who wouldn't mind a fill house every now and then, and an act that was actually worth something. She agrees to perform once, and only once, which clashes with Ray's ambitions. He becomes mean and rather nasty as the film progresses, upset at LV, and also with Mari, who is constantly trying to persuade him to have sex with her, despite the fact that he finds her wholly unattractive. Mari is abrasive and selfish, doesn't recognize or appreciate her daughter's abilities until she realizes that they could make her a lot of money.
A telephone repairman named Billy (Ewan MacGregor) falls for LV, and she for him, though this takes some time, with Billy making frequent visits and accepting LV on her own terms. Blethyn earned an Oscar nomination, and plays Mari with a fierce, vulgar energy. Caine is excellent, as usual, and he has a memorable scene in which he vents his anger and frustration with the world and his own sinking career to Roy Orbison's It's Over, to which he adds profane embellishments. But Horrocks is the undisputed star. The romance between LV and Billy doesn't really get much attention, and is secondary to everything else.
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