WHO’S IN IT?
Lake Bell (It’s Complicated), Fred Melamed (A Serious Man), Demetri Martin (Contagion), Michaela Watkins (The Back-Up Plan), Ken Marino (Wanderlust), Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine), Nick Offerman (21 Jump Street), Tig Norato (Walk of Shame), Geena Davis (Thelma and Louise), Alexandra Holden (The Hot Chick)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Lake Bell (A Good Old Fashioned Orgy), director, writer, co-producer; Mark Roberts (film debut), Jett Steiger (The Woods) and Eddie Vaisman (film debut), producers; Ryan Miller (Safety Not Guaranteed), composer; Seamus Tierney (Liberal Arts), cinematographer; Tom McArdle (The Station Agent), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Carol Solomon (Bell) is a struggling vocal coach who is constantly in the shadow of her father Sal Soto (Melamed), a living God amongst movie trailer voice-over artists. When an opportunity arises for a highly-coveted position of recording for the trailer of a major release, Carol must fight against sexism, ego and family dysfunctions to change the voice of a generation…
WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
<clears throat, deepens voice> This year, one woman will be on the top of her game, with a movie experience so wonderful that no-one could even think of turning it down. An experience known only as… <coughing fit> Sorry, it’s really straining the throat, doing that. But sounding like Christian Bale’s Batman after taking some cough syrup is one of many ways to entice you to see the funny new comedy known as In A World…
The feature debut for director/writer/producer/star Lake Bell, the renowned profession of voice-over artistry is finally recognised amongst its peers in its own quirky indie comedy. Given a satirical tone that brings plenty of warmth and humour, it riffs on the world of the voiceover artist as well as celebrate it. So, for anyone who’s talked into a microphone and spurred out those stock cliché trailer lines, including the one that makes up the title of this film, there is something now to give you a good pat on the back.
But it still stands strong as its own little story, the only major selling point being that it’s with these kinds of people. An age-old, universal story of someone standing up to the environment around them to be the very best may be the formulaic plot of every sports movie ever made, but In A World… always tries to steer away from what’s expected to bring us a funny, likable story involving characters of similar descriptions.
Bell might be putting herself in the lead role in a production where she works on nearly everything but the kitchen sink, but make no mistake this is no vanity project. While she seems to be a stable performer that has the potential to break out in her own time, the rest of the supporting cast includes versatile character actors like Rob Corddry, Nick Offerman and, most notably, Fred Melamed who here gets the conniving role of Carol’s cocky and egotistical voiceover kingpin father. And you thought he was insufferable as smug adulterer Sy Ableman in the Coens’ A Serious Man… All of these actors as well as the rest of its standout ensemble cast seem to all work well from Bell’s witty and intelligent screenplay, which won a special Screenwriting prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Bound to be a funny and intriguing study behind the scenes of the voices you hear in trailers and the like, In A World… is a bright little tale that proves that you don’t need to sit in a recording booth next to a microphone to let your voice be heard. Okay, maybe when it’s this kind of work, but you probably get the idea…
