"Into the Woods" has been a question mark in the awards race throughout the season. Though I have fearlessly (and a bit prematurely, I will admit) predicted the film to appear in categories such as Best Picture and Supporting Actress, most prognosticators have steered clear of placing their chips in Woods' favor. Though there have been film musicals such as "Chicago" and "Les Miserables" have had strong awards recognition, there have been those ("Hairspray", "Nine", "Grease", etc.) that have been largely ignored by the Academy. However, it's clear that after last night's DGA screening of Rob Marshall's adaptation that Into the Woods is coming to crash the party come December 25th.
For those of you that haven't been following my coverage of the film's evolving marketing push, Into the Woods tells the story of the original Brothers Grimm characters, such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood, combined with an original story about a baker and his wife, and their desire to start a family. Act 1 finds each of these characters traveling into the woods (no pun intended) to get what it is they wish; its a retelling of the classic fairytales we're all familiar with. Act 2, however, takes a darker turn, examining the consequences of what happens after "Happily Ever After".
"It's a fairy tale for the post-9/11 generation" Marshall said in a Q&A, which was live streamed for those who weren't invited, following the screening, "Kids today live in a world much more unstable and fragile than when I grew up."
Meryl Streep, who plays the iconic Witch, a role originated by Bernadette Peters during the show's original run on Broadway, agreed with Marshall. "We lived in a halcyon moment in the 50's and 60's, when kids were protected from the harsh reality, but now they see everything and know the world is full of darkness and joy. They're much more aware, but resilient."
Though reviews on the film have been embargoed till mid-December, those who were in attendance were still able to send some very enthusiastic tweets out; to say the reception following the screening was enthusiastic, is an understatement. Deadline's Pete Hammond tweeted:
"Rob Marshall's Into the Woods is the most dazzling screen musical since his own Oscar winning Chicago. Sublime Sondheim. A true winner. A true winner... Into the Woods defines what a great ensemble cast really is. They all shine but Streep soars. Kendrick, Blune, Pine, Corden all terrific."
Awards Daily's Sasha Stone was equally high on the film, saying, "You could call this a darker interpretation of Into the Woods. Chris Pine and Anna Kendrick standouts. And Streep. Of course."
The Film Experience's Nathaniel Rogers continued the acclaim for Anna Kendrick's performance as Cinderella, saying:
"She [Kendrick] nails the shifts between musical comedy and tragedy a little better than the others. I think 'Steps of the Palace' is staged just about the best it could be for film- really impressed with Marshall's choices on that song."
Following the screening, several publications began publishing articles about what this could mean for Oscar, specifically for Streep, who is practically nominated for everything she does. Her performance as the Witch, however, has sparked the kind of acclaim that could lead to a potential win. And being campaigned in Supporting Actress, a category without a real frontrunner, makes it even easier.
"Can Meryl Streep actually win a fourth Oscar for 'Into the Woods'?" wonders HitFlix's Gregory Ellwood?:
"To say Streep is the standout in Rob Marshall's 'Into the Woods' is somewhat of an understatement... her performance is transfixing. She has two showcase numbers, "Stay With Me" and "Children Will Listen", and she knocks them out of the park... No one makes this tricky performance work better than Streep."
If Streep wasn't a lock before, she's definitely a lock now. This was the type of reaction the film, and Streep, needed to solidify itself as a true blue Oscar contender. Though I think Streep will definitely put up a good fight, I don't think she can win, at least not right now. Her win for "The Iron Lady" is still very recent, a win that was extremely divisive, which could hurt her in terms of voters wanting to reward her. Patricia Arquette from "Boyhood", is the only sure thing in the category right now, and only by default. There's a lot of enthusiasm for her performance, one that evolved over the course of the 12 years it took to film the movie. That arc could be too hard for voters to resist, besides, this would be Arquette's first nomination, and first ever win. Streep has been nominated 19 times, and won 3.
Streep could very well be joined by Kendrick, whose chances are bolstered not only by strong post-screening notices, but by being a previous nominee as well. She was the closest thing Monique had to competition back in 2009 for her performance in Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air". Supporting Actress sometimes likes to "double dip", nominating 2 actresses from the same movie (ex: Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Baranza in "Babel", Amy Adams and Viola Davis in "Doubt", Amy Adams and Melissa Leo in "The Fighter", etc).
Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, seems to be Chris Pine. The role of Cinderella's Prince has always been one of the more comedic roles; he's incredibly, vapid and vain, a version lots of people won't be familiar with from the Disney retelling of the famous fairy tale. Pine, however, reportedly hits it out of the park. In Ellwood's quasi-review of the film, he says that Pine, "steals every scene he's in", while complimenting his singing voice. It's very possible if the film does great with the guilds (Producers, Writers, Actors and Directors) that Pine could break into the even weaker Supporting Actor category.
It'll be interesting to see where Into the Woods goes from here; "Les Miserables" received rapturous applause following its secret screening 2 years ago, but received mixed reception from critics outside of the acclaim for Anne Hathaway's performance. And though I don't think the film will be a critics darling in the same way "Birdman" or "Boyhood" are, I do think the film will fare better than Les Mis. Marshall is a musically inclined director, as opposed to Tom Hooper who clearly never directed a musical in his life; his vision of Les Miserables was a clumsy one. Not to mention, Sondheim's story will undoubtedly charm voters, while the underlying social commentary will give the film some gravitas. But whatever its awards fate may be, it's just refreshing to hear that the greatest stage musical of all time has received a worthy film adaptation.
Originally published by the Whit
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