It was one of those special evenings, friends huddled around the television, remote in my hand, them at my mercy. With a click, a long time queue member stumbles across the screen, waiting for the perfect opportunity to trounce the unknowing den dwellers. That’s when we heard The Voices.

Even after reading the premise, I couldn’t have prepared the room for what transpired. Designed from the mind of a dark, deranged Willy Wonka, this film creates a strong line between pristine insanity and depressing reality. Jerry (Ryan Reynolds), a recently released, criminally insane inmate is a few weeks into his faucet and fixtures factory job, and everything is going swimmingly. He keeps the line moving with efficiency and his boss loves his upbeat attitude and productivity. Upward mobility is in sight when the boss offers him an unpaid, after hours position helping plan the company picnic with other members of the staff. Excitedly, he returns to tell his cat and dog friends Mr. Whiskers and Bosco of the recent developments. And they have a lot to say.

I felt that this films consistent tone and pastel color palette meshed well with the psychopathic, schizophrenic mindset of man afraid of reality. For Jerry, the road to recovery was lonely, dirty, and seemingly insurmountable. Having zero real world experience with people of this caliber, you can take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I felt this was a very relateable and realistic portrayal of someone suffering from these mental challenges. Experiencing Jerry wasn’t initially uncomfortable, but as the film progresses, he becomes tragically vilifyable. You sympathize with the person who can not help themselves, but only in so much as they seek to help themselves. I think many viewers will find this film off putting, not just because of the subject matter, but because of how it frames it.

Interestingly, this is one of the more memorable performances I have seen from Ryan Reynolds. He performs his animal companions and drives home a clear perspective into Jerry’s world. It’s not to say that this film isn’t heavy-handed with its message, or repetitive with the horror. But it does a great job packaging a unique vision of a tormented mind and the voices that haunt him.

~* 7.5/10 *~