A screen version of the famous Broadway musical “The Farther Into the Forest”, the actors and roles in which do not require additional performance, was released in 2014. This gave a chance to those who are not able to go to New York to plunge into the fabulous world of secrets and mysteries.
Plot
He lived in one fairy kingdom - the modest Baker did not grieve. He married a woman whom he loved very much, but they only had no children. For a long time they tried to understand what was the matter. The problem, it turned out, goes far into Baker’s childhood when his father stole miraculous beans from a witch’s neighbor. Then the sorceress herself was punished so that it would be inconsequential to treat magical things so casually. The witch, on whom her curse was now lying, took revenge on the Baker's family and made him the last of his kind.
And now, having learned the cause of his misfortune, the Baker with his wife goes to the forest in search of ingredients for the enchanting potion. Fortunately, this same elixir will be able to remove the spell from the witch herself.
Engaged in the fairy tale “The Farther Into the Forest”, the actors perfectly played a colorful story about the adventures of two heroes in a mysterious forest, which was not without reason for being magical. As if at the behest of a good fairy, the paths of Baker, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf, Rapunzel and Jack intersect. Each of them dreams of something of his own and must fulfill a certain mission in order to achieve what he wants. And in the end, as is usual in good tales, all the heroes must forget their disputes and grievances in order to defeat the enemy in the person of the Giantess.
Actors
Well-chosen actors of the film "The Farther Into the Forest" make up a whole star galaxy. The main roles in it were given to James Corden (whose assets include the Tony Award) and Emily Blunt, who had already won her Golden Globe earlier.
No less important character, the witch villain, was played in the film by the brilliant Meryl Streep. Perhaps this woman does not need a special introduction: it is enough to mention only nineteen of her nominations for the Oscars, three of which were crowned with victory. Another antagonist, the Wolf, was played by the bright and eccentric Johnny Depp, who was nominated for an Oscar three times.
If we are talking about villains, we cannot but mention Stepmother performed by Christine Baransky (two-time owner of Tony in addition to one Emmy) and charming Giantess Francis de la Tour (previously awarded the Laurence Olivier and Tony Prize).
The company in the forest adventures of the main characters was Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood), Mackenzie Mosey (Rapunzel) and Daniel Hutstone (Jack).
Of particular note is the fact that in the film "The Farther Into the Forest" the actors themselves sing, showing talent not only in stage mastery, but also in vocal art.
Meryl Streep about her role
Of the many magnificent experienced actresses, among whom were Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and Katherine Zeta-Jones, and even Kate Winslet, film director Rob Marshall chose Meryl Streep to play the role of the witch, which she was incredibly glad about. The actress considered it an honor to play in a production that is so significant in the theatrical culture of America.
Meryl Streep was particularly attracted to the musicality of the film. According to her, the melodies give her inspiration and seem to inspire her, even if she is tired or not feeling well. Previously, when she saw the stage production of the musical of the same name, it was the song of the Witch that made the biggest impression.
Meryl Streep considers parental love the main motive of the film. For her heroine, this topic is of particular importance: in order to protect her daughter Rapunzel from troubles and misfortunes, the witch locks the girl in a tower. The desire to protect their own child is close and understandable to any parent.
The actress calls “Three Little Pigs” her favorite fairy tale.
Emily Blunt about her role
For the young, but already famous Emily, this is the second film where she starred with Meryl Streep (the first was "The Devil Wears Prada", in which the actresses played the boss and assistant). And although in both films the heroines of Meryl Streep torment the heroines of Emily, the actresses themselves managed to make friends.
During the filming, Emily, playing the baker's wife dreaming about a baby, was herself in a position. To avoid this, the director and the film team had to go to various tricks. The costumes of the heroine Blunt became more voluminous, with many details. During the film, her heroine often hid behind the trees.
According to Emily Blunt, “The Farther Into the Forest” is a film about the importance of relationships and about what people are ready to go for the realization of their dreams. She found an interesting and realistic view of women as strong and leading, which is not so often in fairy tales.
The fact that in “The Farther Into the Forest” the actors sang for themselves seemed to Emily an interesting experiment, because before that she was embarrassed to sing in public. But the music of the production, created by Stephen Sondheim, simply can not help but take your breath away.
Chris Pine and Anna Kendrick about their roles in the film
One of the most romantic and famous fairytale couples is Cinderella and her Prince. In the movie “The Farther Into the Forest,” the actors who played them are Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine.
Anna notes the new, more modern look of the film on the beloved heroine of girls. In her opinion, Cinderella is far from ideal and has her own shortcomings. At first, her story develops according to the scenario we all know: a meeting with the Prince at the ball, love, wedding. But the famous fairy tale does not say what happened after she became a princess, what difficulties she has to face after marriage.
Chris Pine advises others to stop dreaming about playing the role of Prince Charming. This is only at first glance an exciting and interesting role. In fact, the character he played turned out to be a very flat type, superficial and, to put it mildly, not smart. His dazzling appearance captivates and does not immediately notice the conceit behind the brilliance of narcissism.
How was the shooting
Even before the filming of “The Farther Into the Forest,” the actors and the entire crew were gathered together by director Rob Marshall. He did this in order to introduce each other to everyone who has yet to work in the same team for a long time. At the meeting, they discussed the future filming process. This approach helped to get rid of awkwardness, find a common language, and actors - better to get used to the role.
The camera crew pre-marked how the cameras would move, so that the actors had an idea about it. John Bibi and his assistants decided not to use the techniques considered traditional in camera work. The main difficulty for them was the sharp transitions from dialogue to songs and the need to make these transitions organic and natural.
Camera crew about the director
Rob Marshall is not only a talented director, but also an Emmy Award choreographer. He built his production in such a way that it is impossible to imagine without songs - they reveal a part of the plot, according to the composer Stephen Sondheim.
Actors "The Farther Into the Forest" speak of Marshall as a person who knows his job. Tracy Ullman says that his readiness to lead this project is beyond doubt.
According to the screenwriter of the film and the musical of the same name, James Lepin, Marshall knows how to maintain the dynamics and tension of the narrative, skillfully arranging scenes and frames of short duration.
Producer John de Luca notes Marshall's sensitivity. During the filming, the director behaved like a caring mother hen, individually discussing with each their tasks and emerging problems.
Location
What is the best place to liven up a fairy tale on the screen? The film crew “The Farther Into the Forest” decided that England with its mysterious forests filled with magic, ancient castles and estates could be ideal for this purpose.
In the film “the farther into the forest,” the actors interact not only with each other, but also with the forest, which seems to have become a full-fledged character. It is so easy to lose yourself or discover something new in your soul, faced with hidden fears.
The first scene of the film was Jack's song “There are Giants in the Sky”, performing which, he watched the growth of huge shoots of magic beans. Everything happened on the estate of Ashridge, which is not far from Berkhamsted.
Several locations were located in the vicinity of Henley-on-Thames, more precisely in the village of Hambleden. But the main find of the film crew was Big Windsor Park with its centuries-old oaks and a mysterious atmosphere. It was here that the majority of natural forest scenes were filmed.
Costumes and decorations
The main difficulty in the work of production designer Dennis Gassner was the need to combine several completely different fairy tales in style, bringing something of their own, original. It was decided to start building a unique atmosphere with the search for Angel Oak, which is the center of the production.
Although most of the filming was full-scale, the artists had to work hard to create scenery for some scenes in the pavilion. It was necessary to make the transition of characters from the ordinary world into the magical invisible and natural. English changeable weather also made adjustments to the filming process.
Colin Atwood, who worked on the creation of costumes, had previously been awarded an Oscar for the films Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Chicago. The forest itself gave inspiration to her, the style and texture of which she tried to transfer to the outfits of heroes and heroines. At the same time, she took into account the character of each character.
Music
The transfer of the Broadway musical to the screen had its own characteristics and difficulties. It was necessary to naturally beat the transitions between dialogs and musical parties. For this part of the songs (and sometimes completely), the actors performed live right on the platform, and only then, if necessary, the sound was corrected in the studio.
When voicing the Russian version of “The Farther Into the Forest”, dubbing actors - G. Chiginskaya (Meryl Streep), A. Bordovsky (Johnny Depp), M. Gladkaya (Emily Blunt) and others - recorded only dialogs, it was decided to leave the songs themselves in original by subtitling.
The opinion of the audience
Of course, the audience could not help but appreciate how magnificent the actors are in “The Farther Into the Forest”. The photo of the cast excited the imagination before the premiere. The stellar cast did not disappoint, and even if their vocal data do not reach the level of colleagues from Broadway, but the acting game compensates for everything with interest.
“The farther into the forest” is clearly not a children's fairy tale. To young viewers, it seems prolonged and boring (especially in the end), but adults like songs and morality inherent in the plot. And even if the film resembles a theater production, rather transferred to the screen, it is definitely worth watching.