Into the Woods (2014)

All your favourite classic fairy tales collide in this feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical with songs by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

The intertwining of the various plot lines and characters is quite intricate, and I won’t go into great detail of them all here, but you are definitely in for a treat.

Or that would be true if you were just watching the show on Broadway. But somehow, this film version doesn’t quite measure up, despite an all-star cast, and usually brilliant director.

The show itself is very good, with clever dialogue and staging, and of course (as with any occasion when Sondheim puts pencil to manuscript paper) fantastically creative music that pushes boundaries and lyrics that boggle the mind with their incredible rhyming schemes.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the film version. This feels like a mostly unnecessary addition to the ever-growing catalogue of Broadway show to film adaptations, and very few of the cast deliver their best in my opinion. (Please feel free to disagree with me in the comments, or whatever; I always appreciate the opportunity to discuss films and put my position to anyone who will listen, even if we may not see eye to eye on everything).

James Corden and Emily Blunt (playing a baker and his wife) - both of whom have proved themselves before in musical roles - fail to steal the show in the way these characters should. Rather, their bickering and arguing just becomes more and more tiresome as the film goes on, and their performances more and more grating.

Even those oft-lauded royalty of film, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp, are less impressive than their previous films might lead one to believe.

The film is quite dark throughout (I mean dark as in low-light, in a cinematic sense), which while it suits the underlying themes of the show overall, feels a bit much after two hours of near darkness.

The only saving grace of this film version in my view is the music, which is of course identical to the music of the Broadway show.

If you get the opportunity to see this film, I wouldn’t necessarily suggest you take it. If you get the opportunity to see it performed on stage, make every possible effort to take it; you will enjoy yourself so much more.

5 out of 10.