InThisWorld,HerVoiceSpeaksVolumes

Iamnotafanofvoice-overmovietrailers.Tome,anarrator’svoicetryingtoglamorizeanupcomingfilmalien-atesmefromtheactualstoryandbelittlesmyintelligence,foritbearstheassumptionthatIcan’tevaluatethefilm’spotentialwithoutsomeoneexplainingtomehowgreatthemovieisgoingtobe.Andtheindustryknowsthistoo:voice-overtrailersarebynowamemory,toooftenthesubjectofhomageorparody.Withoutquestion,however,theboomingvoicesovertwo-and-half-minutemontageshavefordecadesdefinedthewonderofthesilverscreen.Insharpcontrasttotheonceubiquitousvoice-overtrailers,theworldofvoiceactorsremainsre-conditetothegeneralpublic,itsportrayalashiddenasthefacesbehindthemicrophone—untilnow.Titledaf-terthephrasecoinedbythelegendaryvoiceactorDonLaFontaine,“InaWorld...”fillsthegapinthepublicimaginationwithasenseofeaseandgoofinessthatcharacterizethesophisticatedhumorandthesharpwitofLakeBell(“BostonLegal”),whosetriplethreatinwriting,directingandactinginthefilmhasestablishedherselfasanewforcetobereckonedwith.ThefilmroughlyfollowsthedailylifeofCarolSolomon(Bell),avoicecoachwhoseburgeoningcareerputsherintoseriouscontentionwiththevoice-overindustry’sheir-apparentGustavWarner,playedbyKenMarino(“BurningLove”),aswellasherownfatherSamSoto(FredMelamed,HampshireCollege’78),whoisabouttoreceiveanindustrylifetimeachievementaward.Asthethreebattletonarrateahighlysought-aftertrailerforthefictional“TheAmazonGames”tetralogy,Carolnavigatestheunexpectedturnsofindependentadulthoodasshemovesoutofherfather’shouseandjugglestheaffectionofGustavandLouis(thedelightfulDemetriMartin),anendearinglygauchesoundengineeratthestudioCarolworkswith.Meanwhile,Carolunwittinglybecomesentangledinhersister’smaritalcrisissparked—believeitornot—byanIrishaccent.Itisraretoseeafilmasfulfilledintheartisticvisionofafemalefilmmakeras“InaWorld...,”especiallyonedrawinginspirationfromamale-dominatedarena.(AccordingtoHoratiaHarrodatTelegraph,onlyoncehasawomaneverbeenthevoiceforamajormovietrailer:MelissaDisneyinthetrailerforthethriller“Gonein60Seconds”13yearsago.)YetBellhandlesherthreeroleswithequalalacrity,herexecutionasslickasahotknifecuttingthroughbutter.Asalightweightscrewballcomedywithramblingdialogues,thefilmfeelslikeawhim-sicaltrip,itsdetoursasrefreshingtoexploreasthemainpath.Eventhoughthiskindofnarrativeessayrequiresnothinglessthanwide-eyedfascinationtoappreciate—otherwiseitwouldseemtolackfocus—Bell’singenu-ouswritingblendsthemundanewiththefancytokeepthatfascinationaliveinus:weareeagertofollowthrough,butnottooeagertolosepatiencewiththedetails.Bellrespectablyshiesawayfromtheself-congratulationorthesensationalizationthatoftenaccompanyworkssheddinglightonalittle-exploredcornerofsociety.“InaWorld...”usesthelifeofCarolandothervoiceactorsonlyasthemeansratherthantheend.Insteadofmystifyingthecharacters,thefilmharnessesourcuriosityofthemtoilluminatetheirlifeasfamiliarandintimatetothatofourown,notwithouthuntingforjobs,losinglovedones,dealingwitheverydayproblemsandsuccessfullynavigatingmessycourtships.AssistedbyindiephotographymavenSeamusTierney(“LiberalArts,”“Adam”),thelaughs,thetearsandthemanyintentionallyawkwardpausesareallpalpable.Itmightbeastoryaboutthepeoplemostofushavenevermet,butitisalsoastorywecanallrelatetodearly.Perhapsitisduetothecharminghumanizationthroughouttheentirefilmthatthearbitrarysublimationoftheendingcomesasthebiggestdisappointment,whereinamerespanoftenminuteswesuddenlyfindourselvescatchinguponnotone,buttwograndmessages.Granted,thefilmdoesdipbriefly(oneortwolinesmeanttobefunnyratherthaninsightful)ongendernorms,andCarol’sstruggleasafemalevoiceinaworld(forgivemyreference)ofbaritoneisapparent,butthefeministtwistintheendsoundstoomuchlikeaplug-inforSherylSandberg’s“LeanIn”tobetakenseriously.Andeventhoughthedevelopmentofthefilmimbedsfamilydy-namics,thewarmandfuzzy“blood-is-thicker-than-water”speechattheclimaxallbutnegatesthedelicacyofthescriptbeforethatmoment.Itislikefinishingadainty,painstakinglyprepareddishwithathickcoatofbar-bequesauce:somepeoplemightlikeit,andthefoodisstillthere,butthenicetyofflavorsissacrificed.Asdemandforhouseholdnameselevates,voiceactorsthesedaysfindtheirexistencecorneredbycelebrities:justtakealookatthestar-studdedcastlistofrecentanimatedfilmslike“FantasticMr.Fox”(GeorgeClooney,MerylStreep,BillMurray,OwenWilson)or“HotelTransylvania”(AdamSandler,AndySamberg,SelenaGomez,CeeLoGreen).Ifthemusicindustryisanyindication,abeautifulvoicealonewillnolongergofar.Toacertaindegree,then,IdohopethatthelegacyofDonLaFontaine,whosedeep,magneticandrichlylayered“VoiceofGod”decoratedthousandsofmovietrailersinthepastdecades,willevolve,transformandprosper,beitintheformoftheendlesslyfunaccentsthatCarolarduouslyrecordsfromordinarypeople,orthenexticonicsoundtohavepeopletalkaboutforyears(e.g.AndySerkisasthevoiceofGolluminthe“LordoftheRings”trilogy).Afterall,itisnolessthanamiraclethewonderasoundfromtwofoldingsofathinmembranecanelicit.Maythemagicliveon.---FirstpublishedinTheAmherstStudent,Issue143-3