The Voices (2014) Ryan Reynolds wacky Comedy-Horror prelude to Deadpool (Review)

Ryan Reynolds divides opinion just as much he defies expectation. Every time the A-lister gets lost in the mire of leading man-hood, one of his outings as a risk-taker won’t be too far off. He may have cultivated harsh critics over the past five years, but sitting beside that are films like Buried, Adventureland and the recent convention dodging comedy-horror – The Voices; containing a bi-polar performance that should surely ease him into his next mega-budgeted lead role in Marvel’s (Fox Entertainment) crazily unpredictable icon, Deadpool.

The Voices is an ironic mash-up of unpredictable, dark comedy and a thriller with a unique “voice” from no other than Persepolis’ Iranian-French cartoonist/director Marjane Satrapi. Reynolds features as protagonist character Jerry, a Norman Bates archetype, and instead of typifying his monstrous traits, the film focuses on his sweet charm and naiveté. A socially awkward man, Jerry tries to adapt to society while working on the packing floor of a small, rural bathroom factory. He lives alone with his Cat and Dog, dealing with his “socially awkwardness” with the help of his therapist (Jacki Weaver), who regularly makes it clear that he requires drugs to give him a clear state of mind. Satrapi’s smartly inverted outcome means that without medication Jerry’s outlook is a playful radiance of bright warm colours as the binary of his grim reality. Such a creative choice makes The Voices a visually arresting film that makes full use of her comic background, further displaying a visual genius and palpable intelligence as a filmmaker.

One symptom of Jerry’s sickness is being able to hear the feuding voices of angels and demons (substituted by his dog and cat, equipped with Dr Dolittle-like animated mouths). When we are first introduced to the malicious, Scottish-accented cat, Mr Whiskers and Bosco the simple deep-South accented dog is when the surreal black comedy finds its feet. The two pets voiced by Reynolds act as Jerry’s psyche, the scenes with the three interacting are playful, sharp and by far the best scenes the film has to offer.

Gemma Arterton appears as Fiona, a tacky British flirt whom Jerry develops a clingy affection that develops into an outright stalker-like status. After she stands him up on a date and the usual set of convoluted untimely mishaps, Gemma soon enough ends up with her severed head in his fridge. Recalling David Cale’s legendary scenes in Stuart Gordon’s Re-animator, Gemma’s head still remains frighteningly sentient. In a passive-aggressive tone, she lets her displeasure be known and uses her flirty playfulness to manipulate Jerry’s persona further into the realm of the serial killer.

Things escalate as Jerry is overwhelmed by the bad seeds that Mr Whisker’s plants in his head, Satrapi smartly suggests that each incident is a so-called “accidents”, excuses that only make any logical sense is his mentally unhinged head. It’s only when Jerry’s back on the pills, that the harsh real-world horrors of his actions are exposed. His clean colourful eighties-style apartment is stripped leaving a blood-soaked hoarders den. It’s only till the perspective is briefly passed to Jerry’s second love interest Lisa (Anna Kendrick) when we see how uncomfortably twisted Jerry can be. It’s only through Lisa’s eye that the tone of the film develops.

Even if the script was lost on the blacklist since 2009, it makes it no less admirable that screenwriter Michael R. Perry controversially glamorizes Jerry’s actions trying to sweep them under the rug through clever writing and unconventional narrative devices. Perry’s script gives sympathy to a mentally unstable and violent man, doing an excellent job in making him a likeable lead from start to (almost) finish.

The Voices maintains a mind-boggling persona till the end, even in the end credits we are treated to an outrageous song and dance number akin to the Rocky Horror Picture show. Its quirkiness and originality obstruct the categorization of this film, even calling it a genre film doesn’t cut it – this is a film that is uniquely Satrapi. The Voices is as psychotic, fun and as sick as its protagonist, standing proud as one of the more unique gems to come out of 2015, hopefully, this twisted delight gets all the attention it deserves and more now it’s readily available on home video.

Thanks for reading our review of The Voices

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