6/10

My wish is that Ryan Reynolds will do more independent films. After big budget blockbuster bombs like “R.I.P.D”, “Green Lantern”, and “X Men Origins:Wolverine”, it’s roles like the latest from Director Marjane Satrapi that will keep the charismatic Canadian on his toes, and keeps his filmography respectably intact. Jerry is a seemingly normal man to his co-workers. He tries to succeed in his new job at the Milton Bathtub Factory, and he lives in a normal apartment with his dog, Bosco, and his cat, Mr. Whiskers. Yet something seems off. As the new guy at work, Jerry is asked to help plan the company picnic, and there he meets Fiona, an attractive English girl from accounting. Jerry immediately takes a liking to Fiona and excitedly goes home to tell his pets about her. And surprisingly, they answer. But all this is just the beginning of a bizzare and brutal dark comedy. What “The Voices” lacks in mainstream appeal, it more than makes up for in some of the most deranged images that i have ever seen from a comedy. Props to Reynolds for showing a side of himself that not only succeeds, but shows a degree of depth that we didn’t know was there. It’s quite interesting to see him cast here as a protagonist and antagonist at the same time. The audience is literally at war with trying to figure out if Jerry is really worth saving. Reynolds plays him with a childish innocence that made me sad for his after work loneliness. We know there is something off about Jerry from the second we meet him, but it’s his speak before thinking personality that keeps our eyes glued to the screen. I do think this is Reynolds most reaching performance, as it’s a character unlike anything he has ever played before. Credit to Satrapi for the idea to use Reynolds voice as the pets he lives with, in the film. Reynolds uses a Scottish accent to play Mr. Whiskers, and a down south country accent for Bosco. To cast the main actor as the narrations for the animals in the film is certainly an original touch that made me open my eyes to the intelligence this captures. Of course the animals should sound like Jerry if their voices are all in his head to begin with, and that is brilliant. I really dug the movie’s bravery to throw in a laugh every once in a while to combat such deranged imagery. I think a black comedy’s true test is the ability to make it’s audience laugh even when the overall tone of the movie has been flipped upside down. The film is rated R, and that isn’t surprising with the grizzly images of everything from severed heads to tupperwear of chopped anatomies. Anything less i feel would fail to garner the same kind of reaction it deserves, and this film would be nothing more than a straight to DVD comedy. If there is one negative to the film, it’s the anti-climatic third act. It’s not that the ending isn’t satisfying, but it all feels rushed and tucked away easily for the damage that has been done. The suspense of Jerry getting away with this or getting caught never really has time to register, and i think ten more minutes of build could’ve easily worked more at an ending deserving of the first eighty minutes that were wonderfully structured to give you two great genres for the price of one. The film’s credits scene is the perfect goodbye with a musical number lip synched by cast members Anna Kendrick, Gemma Atterton, and Ella Smith, in addition to Reynolds. “The Voices” breathes life into the Video on Demand culture. It proves that sometimes the most valuable gems require not even leaving your living room. Check it out for devilishly morbid good time.