14. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Little Voice (1998)

14. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Little Voice (1998)

(sorry, everyone there's not a gif to use for the movie this time! 😭)

Fun Facts!

Philipp Jackson works alongside Ewan again in this movie in a minor role. They worked together on the movie "Brassed Off!"

Jim Broadbent is part of the supporting cast as the character Mr. Boo. He will reunite with Ewan to film "Moulin Rouge!"

The titular character, Little Voice, is played by Jane Horrocks who performs her own songs! They did not hire an impressionist for her to lip sync to; she's just that talented! She also played this role seven years earlier for the stage play version.

Genre: Comedy/Musical

Rating: R

Director: Mark Herman

Starring: Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn

Synopsis: "Little Voice" is about a young lady (Jane Horrocks), nicknamed Little Voice due to her whispery manner of speaking. She rarely talks and is so shy that she never leaves her house. The only thing that brings her joy is listening to music. Her mother (Brenda Blethyn) is the exact opposite. She's loud, talkative, and unfortunately, doesn't think Little Voice is good for anything. When a talent scout discovers that Little Voice has a gift for impersonating famous singers, all he sees are dollar signs. He just has to convince this girl with a tiny personality to share with the world her larger than life brilliance.

Ewan Review: Ewan McGregor plays the character Billy. Like Little Voice, Billy is a man of few words. While music is the only thing on her mind, his is constantly preoccupied with his pigeons. When he meets Little Voice for the first time he is immediately intrigued by her and tries to get to know the meek young lady. Ewan isn't given much to do in this movie. His character is shy so he doesn't have many lines. He's mostly relegated to being the quiet awkward guy in the background. If you're looking for Ewan content, then I suggest you keep looking. You could call Little Voice a love interest, I suppose. I don't see their relationship that way but that's just my opinion. He doesn't have any kissing, sex, or nude scenes. I believe he speaks in a Yorkshire accent for the movie. His awkwardness is cute and relatable and he performs a heroic act towards the end of the movie. I think acting wise he gives a good performance.

Screentime Percentage: Ewan is on screen for a grand total of 14/97 minutes making his SP 14%.

To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan content alone? Unfortunately, no. He's just a minor character without much screentime or lines. Is the movie worth watching in general? Yes. It's a charming movie with a talented cast.

Where to Watch: "Little Voice" is available for rent on YouTube, Google Play Movies and TV, Fandango at Home, and Amazon Prime Video.

Closing Thoughts: I feel I have the responsibility to point out that the characters Billy and Little Voice are considered "abnormal" by the people around them. They don't understand social cues, they don't make a lot of eye contact, they barely talk and when they do, it's only about the specific interest they have, and they have unusual mannerisms. In other words, while the movie doesn't explicitly give them a label, I think they're meant to be autistic or at the very least are coded that way. I'm bringing it up because I don't know if the actors are on the spectrum but I've heard from those who are that the autistic community has often been hurt by even the most well-meaning depictions of the neurodivergent. I'm not autistic so I don't think it's fair for me to say whether the actors performance was harmful in their depiction or if it was done well and respectfully. All I can do is give you a heads up so that you aren't blindsided if you decide to watch it.

That fic you wrote?

The one about the ship no one else cares about, or the deeply unpopular character, or the extremely unusual AU?

The fic that got no comments or kudos when you posted it?

Months or years from now, that fic might be exactly what someone is looking for in the sea of fics about all the popular characters, ships, and AUs.

Your fic might be the only fic out there that has what someone is looking for. The only fic that scratches the itch that it turns out you and that reader share.

And that's awesome.

Random Idea

Here's something I've been thinking about: A hyper-fixation hotline! Maybe these already exist. Honestly I didn't look it up lol. I'm currently obsessed with Ewan McGregor so what if you could call the hotline, tell the dispatcher your interest, (i.e. Subject: Celebrities. Topic: Ewan McGregor) and then you'd be connected to someone you can talk to about him! Cuz like, I don't want to just talk TO people about my fave. I'm thankful for those that listen but they don't understand or can't get invested because they're not interested in him like I am. A lot of the stuff I talk about is their first time hearing it. I wanna talk WITH someone about Ewan. Someone who has also watched his movies, and listened to his interviews, and wrote fanfiction etc etc! So that I'm not just rambling to a patient stranger but I'm having a conversation with someone who gets it! Tumblr has been a godsend when it comes to finding people who share your interest, absolutely. I also wanna talk on the phone so I can satisfy the human connection hole I have. Like being able to hear someone's voice and then laugh or get excited or whatever. I need that. Anyway, just something I've been thinking about. For what it's worth, if you're a die hard Ewan McGregor fan and you stumble across this, then take this as permission to talk to me about Ewan! If you've wanted someone to ramble to then I'm that guy!

Vent (TW for mentions of self harm and binge eating)

Work was bad today. Really really bad. Physically painful bad. I feel so invisible and worthless. Not just by management. Of they don't care about any of us. But by my coworkers too. I know I'm different. I know I'm not like them. I feel like I'm their punching bag because I'm different. Then today my parents showed up at my job demanding to see me. I'm no contact with my parents. It was a hard decision to come to and they act like they don't know what "no contact" means. I was angry and scared. What if they forced their way into where I was? What if they caused a scene? I couldn't stop myself from shaking. Thankfully they left after being told twice. It made me worry that they would just wait for me at my house. At any time they could just show up as if I owe them my time. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I don't want to deal with this! I want to hurt myself. Instead I bought a bunch of food to binge. Neither option is good...I feel so out of control. I hate my life and I hate myself. I just want to escape somewhere I can be totally safe and happy. I knew that once I got home I was going to drown myself in Ewan McGregor content. It's the only thing right now that I can count on to be there for me. To fill me with happiness. I'm thankful for my mutuals on here and artists, writers, gif makers, and everything in between too. You're creativity and kindness provide the means for my escape from reality. I don't know how to end this. That's all.

19. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Fun Fact: Jim Broadbent co-stars in this movie as Harold Zidler. He worked with Ewan on the movie "Little Voice" as Mr. Boo!

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor

Genre: Musical/Romance

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: A young man named Christian who believes deeply in love although he has never fallen in love moves to France to pursue his dream of being a writer. He is befriended by a group of Bohemian artists who enlist him to help write a play for the Moulin Rouge. Thanks to a mix up, he meets the star of the Moulin Rouge, the courtesan Satine, and falls madly in love her. Unfortunately for him, not only is Satine betrothed to another man, she refuses to allow herself to fall in love.

Ewan Review: Ewan McGregor plays the character Christian. Christian is an optimistic and idealistic man. He believes that there is nothing more important than love. Although he is poor and Satine is meant to marry a rich Duke, he never loses hope that love will find a way for them to be together. Ewan speaks in an English accent for the role. He has a love interest, several kissing scenes, and two implied sex scenes. This is a musical so you get to hear him sing throughout the movie. He cries, screams, moans, and whimpers. His character is basically a puppy in human form so prepare for lots of charming innocence. His acting performance was wonderful.

Screentime Percentage: Ewan is on screen for a grand total of 51/128 minutes making his SP 40%.

To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan content alone? Yes. Is it worth watching in general? Yes.

Where to Watch: "Moulin Rouge!" is available for rent on YouTube, Google Play Movies and TV, and Fandango at Home. You can also pirate it on soap2day.

I recently rewatched Attack of the Clones with my girlfriend and she brought up something that I hadn’t thought much about in regards to Anakin and Padme meeting again.

Palpatine set up that reunion. But why?

Elaboration:

1. He knows that if they were in a relationship it would give him additional leverage and possible blackmail against both Anakin and Padme.

2. Anakin being rejected would give Palpatine a new in for further emotional manipulation

3. He expects that Padme won’t treat Anakin like a capable adult (and in a few moments she doesn’t) and he knows this will both irritate Anakin and reinforce the idea that he has been pushing that Anakin is not being recognized for his capabilities

4. He knows there is tension between Anakin and Obi-Wan and expects Anakin’s blatant crush to exacerbate that tension

5. He has every intention for Padme to be successfully assassinated and if it happens on Anakin’s watch he expects it will undermine Anakin’s capabilities in the eyes of Obi-Wan and the order while leaving Anakin struggling with guilt over his failure

6. He knows he cannot accurately predict exactly what will happen but he’s confident he can spin whatever happens to his advantage