Voices
I’m very much of mixed mind with regards to “Voices.” Co-written (with Daniel Hathcock) and directed by Nathaniel Nuon (his first feature), it contains some fascinating ideas for a supernatural thriller, but it doesn’t quite know how to bring them together in a satisfactory way. I like the performances, but the storytelling almost detaches us from the emotional impact. And yet, I feel like the story was told in an interesting way; I just don’t think it works entirely.
“Voices” focuses in on Lilly (Valerie Jane Parker), a young woman who is happily married, but who was blinded in a car accident when she was a child. We don’t know why she was raised by her aunt Becca (Jordan Ladd), but it wasn’t an easy childhood, having to acclimate to being blind, but also wanting to be normal. This is intercut with her as an adult, and she seems to be a therapist now. When she goes for a walk in the neighborhood, she comes across a young girl named Madison whom she connects with. When she goes to see her at her house one day, with a gift, the old man at the house says that there’s no Madison there. Couple that with a client who talks to her about her son, and there might be more to Lilly since her blindness than she realizes.
From there, I will let Nuon’s film fill in the blanks. If you find yourself thinking about “The Sixth Sense” or “The Devil’s Backbone” or other supernatural thrillers like that, I would not blame you, and those are some good ones to borrow ideas from. “Voices” has some very strong ideas that probably would have been best served from a more streamlined narrative approach; by moving back and forth so frequently in Lilly’s story, it’s a little too easy to lose our place in the narrative. (At least that was my experience with the movie.) When Nuon centers on adult Lilly and what’s going on in her life, she is as engaging a horror movie heroine as you can ask for, and Parker does a good job of conveying the anxiety of the character. This is the emotional center of the film, and the way each scene unfolds is intriguing and captivating. Overall, there’s probably a little too much backstory for “Voices” to be as successful as it could have been. Sometimes, less truly is more.
