Scavenger Hunt

Since the dawn of time, nothing shakes the brain cells and pumps the heart valves more than a juicy bit of news, but for the purpose of innovation and creation lets start this written word with the idea that not all published news is worthy of its name and for this reason my blog as a trial or a taster will attempt to review or positively critique all things artistic, creative, musical and visual such as film and perhaps even with an attempt at spiritual insight.

The process of film making and film critique has a technique of course but as a laywoman I will start with style and refine with process.

Today's audio visual word winks at the newly released: Into the Woods

Fairy Tale or Dark Fiction? Into the Woods might be better described as an innovative new genre of dark fantasy film making, partly loyal to the fairy tale genre but also extremely realistic and pragmatic in its exposure of human nature both as good and bad.

Disney has evolved much in the last few years and although the musical side of the film reminds one of short adolescent films made by Disney for a growing pains audience, this in fact takes the growing pains idea to a new level.

The characters are neither black nor white but grey in every real sense of the word.

Mistakes are made and the notions of love and happiness are well tempered with the feelings of regret, loss, sadness, anger and revenge.

Adultery as well as parenting and coupling are explored in the film through the main idealised characters (prince and princess, witch and children)

Meryl Streep is glorious as the believable grey witch, the blamed bad character and yet the lovable realistic parent who holds on to the motherhood role for as long as she can doing the best that she can.

The prince isn't all he is cut out to be,just an ordinary man with ego and Cinderella is both feminist and nurturing, dreaming and realistic.

Red riding hood is an evolving adolescent and jack is a growing boy, both discovering the magic of learning in life.

Rapunzel as the witch's adopted child is seen as both strong and vulnerable, feminine but resigned and the two princes as brothers provide some comedy albeit in the greater name of Love

Johny Depp, yet again wows us with his theatrical performance as the wolf and in view of his roles in the Pirates films and in Charlie and the chocolate factory, one wonders why he doesn't take to the stage. Theatre is the mother of all acting and he is certainly capable of stage acting and huge theatrical performances if his role as the wolf is anything to go by. He plays the naturally dark and predatory wolf to perfection but with a hint of the amiable friend and the hopeless predator, obliged as it were to be who he instinctively is.

Into the Woods can easily be described as into the stages of life, where the woods may represent the places in our lives where we make mistakes and let ourselves go, in order to discover, explore ourselves and grow into knowing who we are and who we can be.

See it if only for the musical score which is interesting and rhythmic as well as the extraordinary performances of Streep and Depp and the surprising twists showing us that life isn't Disney World but Disney is about life with all its good and evil characters but most importantly that none of us are either one or the other but both at different times in our lives perhaps.

Enter the Woods..Happy hunting soul searchers.