MovieChat Forums > Little Voice (1998) Discussion > the ONLY problem with this movie (BIGass...

the ONLY problem with this movie (BIGass spoilers)

posted 21 years ago by cat_bert
22 replies | jump to latest

this movie was *beep* brilliant - the genious performence, the flawless dialouge, the great story.

i can go on and on, but that's pointless - if you saw the movie you know what im talking about, and if you didnt.... well *beep* off this is a spoilers thread >:|

the only thing that really bugged me was the pointless end :| the movie performs GREAT but then CRASHES down at the 99%'th percent. i really do wish there was a better ending rather then the pointless shot of her realsing the pigeon :| yeah, we all get it - she's like the pigeon, it's a metaphore, and so on - but that dosent make for a very exciting end :P

[–] JohnnyGoodtimes 20 years ago

I didn't think it was a bad ending, I just wanted a little more of an ending.

[–] JenEyre83 20 years ago

The reason I liked this ending so much is because it's like life. Life doesn't always have a concrete ending...and it was the same with this movie.. you don't know how things are going to turn out for her...but you have high hopes that they will.

[–] pinkmuramui 20 years ago

I thought the same thing too at first, but now I see it differently. Now I think that the ending is saying she ended up with Billy, b/c he loved her own voice. Everyone else only loved Judy's or Marilyn's or whoever's voice coming out of L.V., but not her own voice. Keeping this in mind, I can't think of a better way to show that L.V. had succeeded accepting her true self at the end.

"So they laughed and danced in the trees, and pretty fair nonsense I daresay you think" ~The Hobbit

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] pinkmuramui 20 years ago

To me, the fact that she was with Billy, no matter what on earth they were doing, was moving.

"So they laughed and danced in the trees, and pretty fair nonsense I daresay you think" ~The Hobbit

[–] JohnnyGoodtimes 20 years ago

Yeah, just knowing that she ended up with Billy is enough of an ending, I suppose. Billy has to be one of the sweetest characters I've ever seen on-screen, but he wasn't a total dope either--he was smart and an overall good guy.

"There are no wires. I finshed work hours ago! ...I don't know what else to say now."

--"The principles of surgery are the same above and below the neck."--

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Loomis_Orange 19 years ago

Hi Mike - I'm new here too and I also loved this beautiful little film. I can think of a thing or two I didn't like such a "fillers" concerning the friend of the mother. I believe that character could have had something to say with only expressions if nothing else. It could have been a decent stand-out supporting role, all it ends up being is annoying.
Otherwise I thought Laura "El Vee" was a sparkler. Brenda was was excellent and Michael Caine was too.. I watch this film when I'm in dreamy kind of state. I do the same with "Portrait of Jennie" That might sound a bit peculiar but ...

shel

[–] Jungle_Red 19 years ago

I like the ending too. It was anti-climatic. I just wished it kinda wrapped things up with the other characters a lil. Mainly Brenda Blethyn's character. I wanted to know what happened to her mainly because I think Brenda is a brilliant actress and really throws herself into the role.

[–] JohnnyGoodtimes 19 years ago

I can think of a thing or two I didn't like such a "fillers" concerning the friend of the mother. I believe that character could have had something to say with only expressions if nothing else. It could have been a decent stand-out supporting role, all it ends up being is annoying.

That character (Sadie?) wasn't filler. One of the themes running through Little Voice is how people who talk the most are necessarily saying the most. Notice the deeper distinction between the loud characters and the quiet ones. Ray and Marie are loud, but as humans they're not the best around. LV, Billy and Sadie barely talk, but they're good people (Sadie is the only one who goes to LV's side when she faints after the show, and she takes Marie into her home even after she was yelled at by her). It wasn't that Sadie couldn't talk and had to rely on her expressions, but rather that she simply did not express much and was still a good person, as opposed to Marie who said everything that she felt but didn't care about what others were feeling. Basically, the loud characters are selfish while the quiet characters are smart and caring, and Sadie helps to illustrate this.

--"The principles of surgery are the same above and below the neck."--

[–] LuisaGallo 18 years ago

Totally agree with this post, JohnnyGoodtimes! How true that can be in real life!

[–] black_dagger 19 years ago

I like the ending too. It was anti-climatic. I just wished it kinda wrapped things up with the other characters a lil. Mainly Brenda Blethyn's character. I wanted to know what happened to her mainly because I think Brenda is a brilliant actress and really throws herself into the role.

My drama teacher once said Theatre is there to ask questions, movies are there to answer them. I think the ending was great because it left us asking questions. It made us want to know more, and not in the way most movies do (this didn't try and set up a sequel).

Since this was based on a stage play there are many stagey elements that you wouldn't get in most films. I think the cliff hanger is one of those elements.

http://randominsanity1.bravehost.com : Because life is already normal enough...

[–] maverick-media 18 years ago

I thought it was a perfect ending. I didn’t need more of an 'exciting' ending; it wasn’t really that sort of movie anyway, although the metaphor of realising the pigeon could be seen as the most exciting ending possible. It’s an ending that says that she is free of her mother and somewhat free from the restraints of the past and maybe ends up with Billy.

http://www.maverick-media.co.uk

[–] sweeney32 18 years ago

It never occurred to me that she wouldn't end up with Billy. He obviously was totally smitten with her, and she clearly was drawn to him. We didn't need to see them get married or have some passionate embrace to know that they'll end up together. The fact that LV—who was so repressed and shy—would go to Billy's place at all was a huge step. It's her acknowledging that he's going to be a part of her life. She'd been living like a hermit up until then, almost, and now she makes a choice to go visit with him.

I thought the ending was perfect. It wasn't obvious (as a wedding scene or kiss would have been), but it was obvious, if you know what I mean. They'll be happy together.

[–] jacawaro 17 years ago

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[–] LuisaGallo 17 years ago

I think it was a good ending, it was realstic that she didn't suddenly become a raving extrovert overnight, she just ended up feeling a bit more free to express herself

[–] scot3121 18 years ago

Sweet movie. The ending was ok I guess. I think I wanted a bit more of LV and Billy kind of finding each other. I really don't know how I would have ended it though, so perhaps the way it did end was the only way to go. I can't get over how very sweet Ewan was in this movie. He sure can play a variety of roles and be so believeable in every one of them. A side note: Ewan didn't sing in this movie, but he did do a duet with Jane Harrocks on one of her CDs. Very nice.["The Further Adventures Of Little Voice"--Jane Harrocks. The title of the song is "Your Just In Love" with Ewan Mcgregor.

[–] necroticfuzzfunk 17 years ago

ah yknow, he loved her voice and not the people she imitates. she was able to find love & acceptance from someone who wasn't her father.

the point wasnt her going on to become a famous club singer, it was just her coming out of her shell and learning to enjoy life, that's the way i saw it.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] kslcutter 12 years ago

I must agree with cat bert, the ending was weak. I was hoping when Billy took LV to the amphitheater I would get another chance to hear Jane sing. But, nothing. I was very disappointed.

[–] angelexposed 12 years ago

I don't think Billy really wanted or really needed to hear her sing. The singing she does throughout the movie are her immitating other people, because she has no 'voice' of her own until the very end when she is driven to the point of confronting her mother and taking back her name (Laura). Billy only really wants to hear her real voice, her real thoughts, he doesn't seem all that desperate to hear what others have heard.

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