Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Love Song to Life, September 29, 2004
Very Annie Mary took me by shock and delightful surprise.
Rachel Griffiths (Hillary to Emily Watson's Jacqueline Du Pre) gives her
finest performance to date - and though the film is 3 years old Griffiths
hasn't as yet done anything quite as satisfying as her brilliant turn here as
Annie Mary.
33 year old, Annie comes off as mildly retarded, and, in the purest sense
of the word, is, since life was pretty much over for her at 15. That's when
Annie Mary, who's dream was to be an opera singer, won a national vocal
competition judged by Pavarotti. The Great Tenor told her she would have a
marvelous career, and awarded her the grand prize, a grant to study full
time study in Milan.
Unfortunately, that same week, her mother took ill, died. Her dreams
dashed, Annie is forced to take her mother's place at home. Her father
accomplishes his means of keeping Annie underfoot (disturbingly, and at one
point, literally) by constant humiliation of his daughter, reminding her
she isn't special, she isn't, in fact, anything at all.
As Pugh, her father, Jonathan Pryce is terrific: selfish, cold hearted and
almost two decades after he's shattered her dreams, the man still berates
as " talentless, useless, stupid, slovenly . . . what man would ever have
you?" Oh yeah, Dad forces her to dress in his dead mother's shapeless,
matronly shifts as he constantly regaling Annie of how beautiful her mother
was.
The film opens with Pryce singing Puccini's Nessun Dorma through mounted
speakers atop his bakery delivery truck as he steers through the Welsh
countryside as "The Voice of the Valleys". As the camera pulls in, we
see "The Voice of the Valley" in a rubber Pavarotti mask and a Pavarotti
sized tuxedo. And we get the entire aria. If for nothing else, this
opening scene is worth the price of the film. And it only gets better from
there!
While not slapstick Griffiths' Annie Mary is prone toward extreme
clumsiness - moving (especially when running) like an excited 5 year old,
all stiff arms and awkwardness. She's adorable. Clumsiness leads to minor
accidents, falling down stairs, running into doors - each moment hilarious
yet making ugly duckling even more endearing. Annie teaches voice lessons
and we get to see her in action as she instructs a young gay couple with a
dream to go to America and, star with Dolly Parton in "Annie Get Your
Gun." Amazing.
The heart of the film centers around Annie's relationship the villagers and
her best friend, Bethan, a bedridden teenager half her age. The villager's
wish for Bethan is to send her to Disneyland, however her own true and only
wish is to, at least once, hear Annie sing.
Through an unlikely series of events - including a talent competition, a
bouncing Pavarotti, the Village People, the Welsh Grand National Horserace
and the entire village turning against Annie) Bethan - and the village -
finally get to hear Annie Mary find her voice again. It is a magical moment
blending, forgiveness, hope, pathos and Puccini, as Annie Mary finds not
only her voice, but the strength to carry on.
Very Annie Mary is easily one of the most joyous DVD discoveries I've yet
made.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Need to know South Wales to fully appreciate...., February 20, 2004
This was a blast of nostalgia for me since I spent many childhood vacations in a Welsh coal mining valley. The Welsh are an underated nation. Their coarse and pithy humor rides on lilting voices that are interspersed with fat vowels and accentuated syllables. Their hearts are pure gold, hence one of the main plots of the story, a village pulls together to raise money to send a sick little girl on a trip to Disneyland. Unfortunately, the idea seems more a Holy Grail in their own minds, since little Bethan really has no desire to spend her last days in the arms of Mickey Mouse. The concurrent plot, is the conflict between Annie Mary and her dad. He is a dour and overbearing village baker who makes her life a misery, until he has a stroke and becomes a sad and helpless doll to be carelessly carted around by Annie. I should add at this point that I was amazed at Rachel Griffiths' command of the Welsh dialect. I didn't believe it was her until I checked the credits. Super eccentric performance with a believable accent... very impressive. The rest of the movie is one of those lovely quirky low key ramblings, full of odd characters and bizarre situations. If you know Wales, you will know the characters and will smile with affection. Not an oscar winner, but a sweet little view of a working class community in a beautiful land. Treat your jaded palate to something simple.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are Welsh people this nutty? YES!, April 12, 2004
By A Customer
I saw this film in the cinema on a visit home to Wales and couldn't wait for the dvd release. After a long wait I bought it on video in the UK and brought it back to the States. All of my British friends (and even some American ones)liked it but the Welsh ones love it. As crazy as the characters are, they are all recognizable. My favourites are Hinge, Minge and Bracket the village people wannabees. Wales is so overlooked and although I realize that this isn't going to do it many favours it will hopefully entertain. I wish that Sara Sugarman's short film "Valley Girls" was included as an extra on the dvd as that is 45 minutes of pure enjoyment.
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