SYNOPSICS
Very Annie Mary (2001) is a English movie. Sara Sugarman has directed this movie. Rachel Griffiths,Jonathan Pryce,Ioan Gruffudd,Matthew Rhys are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2001. Very Annie Mary (2001) is considered one of the best Comedy,Musical movie in India and around the world.
When Annie Mary was 16, she was offered a scholarship to sing in Milan, but was never allowed to go because her mother was dying. Now Annie Mary is 33 and no longer sings. She lives under the shadow of her chapel-strict father, known to all as The Voice of the Valleys, who sees himself as a budding Pavarotti. She wants to break free, but her father has a stroke and demands even more of her. When she finally rebels, the whole village becomes involved in a competition to raise money and get Annie's terminally ill best friend, 16-year-old, Bethan Bevan to Disneyland. Unfortunately Annie loses all the money they win betting on horses! She is now the most unpopular person in the village until she is asked to sing again... and Annie Mary realises that she can, at last, move on.
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![Maggie and Annie 2002 (US) [105 min] Trailer](http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/XQswNjnqw7s/mqdefault.jpg "Maggie and Annie 2002 (US) [105 min] Trailer")
Very Annie Mary (2001) Reviews
A Love Song to Life
Very Annie Mary took me by shock and surprise. Rachel Griffiths gives her finest performance and though the film is 3 years old, she hasn't as yet done anything quite as satisfying as her brilliant turn as Annie. 33 year old, Annie comes off as mildly retarded, and, in the truest sense of the word, she is, since life pretty well ended at 15. That's when Annie Mary, who wanted nothing more than to be an opera singer, won a vocal competition judged by Pavarotti who told her she would have a marvelous career, and she's given a grant to study in Milan. That same week, her mother took ill, died, and Annie was forced to give up her dreams to stay and take her mother's place in the home. Her father accomplishes his means by humiliating Annie into believing she isn't special, she isn't, in fact, anything at all. As Dad, Pugh, Jonathan Pryce is terrific as. Selfish and cold hearted almost two decades after he's shattered her dreams, the man still berates his daughter calling her talentless, useless, stupid, slovenly and cuts her to her heart laughing at her "what man would ever have you?" He forces her to dress in his own dead mother's shapeless, matronly as he constantly tells Annie how beautiful her mother was. The film opens with Pryce singing Puccini's Nessun Dorma from a mounted speaker system atop his bakery delivery truck as he drives through the Welsh countryside. As the camera pulls in, we see Pugh "The Voice of the Valley" in a rubber Pavarotti mask and wearing an Pavarotti sized tuxedo. Beautiful and hilarious all at once. While not slapstick Griffiths' Annie Mary is prone to extreme clumsiness often moving (especially when running) like an excited 5 year old, all stiff arms and awkwardness. She's adorable. Clumsiness leads to minor accidents, falls down stairs, running into doors and other objects each moment is hilarious yet does something to endear this ugly duckling even more to us. When Dad suffers a stroke, Annie Mary is forced to take care of the household with riotous and disastrous results. The heart of the film centers around Annie's relationship the village and her best friend, Bethan, a bedridden teenager. The village wish for Bethan is to send her to Disneyland. Bethan's only wish is to hear Annie sing. Through an unlikely series of events(including a talent competition, a bouncing Pavarotti, the Village People and the Welsh Grand National Horserace and the entire village turning against Annie) Bethan and the village get to hear Annie Mary find her voice again. It is a magical moment blending pathos, forgiveness, hope, heartbreak and Puccini, as Annie Mary finds not only her voice, but the means to carry on. Very Annie Mary is easily one of the most joyous DVD discoveries I've made. p.
Although billed as a musical comedy there's so much more to the second film from emerging writer/director Sara Sugarman.
Very Annie-Mary (M), now showing at The Regent Theatre in Te Awamutu, is not only packed with laughs but takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of human emotions. Inspiring feelings of amusement, hope and joy the film also has moments of utter clarity, deepest despair and complete regret - it's guaranteed to break your heart before restoring your faith in humanity. Thirty-year-old Annie-Mary, played by Six Foot Under star Rachel Griffiths, has never left her Ogw home in the Welsh valleys and is under the thumb of her father. The dizzy girl, who won a prestigious Welsh singing competition in her teens, still dresses as though she were 16, secretly smokes and cannot cook quite an irony as she works for her father. She secretly dreams of leaving home and setting up with her best friend, the terminally ill Bethan Bevan (Joanna Page), who is half her age, as well as marrying Colin Thomas (Rhys Miles Thomas), a candidate for the Baptist ministry and the only man in the valley under 60. When her music-loving father Jack Pugh (Jonathan Pryce) suffers a stroke during a charity recital Annie-Mary is forced to grow up and take on some responsibility the only problem is she has no idea about life in the real world, keeping her money in a piggy bank. She's so clumsy that she walks into doors. The film delivers a believable portrayal of life in a Welsh village, something a frequent visitor to Wales like me is qualified to say. Hornblower star Ioan Gruffudd goes back to his Welsh roots to make an appearance as gay confectioner Hob while former Hi-de-hi star Ruth Maddoc plays Pugh's love interest, Mrs Ifans. While the film contains some sex scenes, which are far from graphic, there is also a smattering of offensive language. This aside, Very Annie-Mary is one of those films that sees you leaving the cinema riding on a cloud. The music is just great too.
A little gem of a film
I enjoyed every minute of this film, and I think that's the great thing about it; it's consistently entertaining. It's got funny moments, touching moments, sad moments, and a downright beautiful finale that left me feeling warm. It's not a blockbuster, it doesn't have car chases or explosions or explore the depths of the human psyche, but it's very enjoyable in a down-to-earth sort of way. The characters really draw you in and are excellently portrayed by the cast, with unintrusive directing that lets the superb script do the work. I was surprised at how low this film had scored, and recommend that anyone who roots for the underdog or has ever wanted to just say 'Nuts to the lot of you, I'm doing what *I* want' will enjoy Very Annie Mary. Go on, give it a try. You might like it...
Blown Away by Rachel Griffiths
I was blown away by the range of emotion and expression shown by Rachel Griffiths in the movie, Very Annie Marie. I was not particularly impressed with her acting in the HBO series, Six Feet Under, but now I realize she is unable to use her talents to the full extent that she did in Very Annie Marie. I have a new sense of respect for her. In this movie, I found her to be a brilliant actress who is absolutely captivating and her delivery and comic timing are superb. Knowing that she is a native of Australia, I was completely convinced by her portrayal of a Welsh woman. This movie reminds me of the sweet humor and warmth of the movie, Calendar Girls, in that it portrays colorful characters who are believable and not just Hollywood stereotypes. Rachel is a bright spark that brings life and a sense of joy to the movie. I would like to know if she was actually singing the aria. If not, I was completely convinced that she was. I have not previously written a review but was so impressed with Rachel's performance that I had to this time.
The baker's daughter
The life of Annie Mary changes completely after the death of her mother. Annie Mary, who had a beautiful voice, suddenly stopped trying to sing opera. Her life in the small Welsh town is boring, to say the least. To make matters worse, her best friend, Bethan Bevan, is struck by cancer. Annie Mary, who is a loyal friend, wants to help her sick friend go to Disneyland. Annie Mary's father, Jack, has a bakery in the town. We see him as he makes his deliveries in a Luciano Pavarotti's mask and singing in his beautiful tenor opera arias that are much admired by the people of the area. When he suffers a stroke, Annie Mary's life goes into a tail spin. As a caretaker, Annie Mary is useless. As much as she tries to make a go at being a baker, she never makes it work. In desperation she turns to Mrs. Madoc, her father's girlfriend, to buy her out. As a way to help Bethan, Annie Mary and a few of the town's women, she decides to enter a contest in Cardiff. They have prepared to do a number of the Village People, "Y.M.C.A.", but they are horrified when they arrive at the hall where the competition is going to be held, and watch a group of men doing exactly their number, much better. The women decide to change their act into a sort of "Three Tenors" aria in which Annie Mary, wearing an inflated rubber suit, floats into the audience. Needless to say, they win, but emboldened by the turn of events in her life, she gambles all the money into a horse race and loses it. Annie Mary becomes Ogw's most hated person. What's more the trip to Disneyland is too late for Bethan, who suffers a relapse. It's at this point that Annie Mary finds her voice again and she gives her friend a rendition of Puccini's aria "O mio bambino caro" in a shaky voice that gets better as the scene changes to another location. Sara Sugarman, the writer and director of this screwball comedy was lucky in casting one of the most talented actresses working in films these days: Rachel Griffiths. Ms. Sugarman gets a tremendous performance out of Ms. Griffiths, who shows her range in a role she was born to play. Jonathan Pryce is also excellent as the distant father who can't see eye to eye with his daughter. Although sometimes the accents get a bit hard to follow, the luminous presence of Ms. Griffiths and the sure direction of Ms. Sugarman make us overlook that minor problem and enjoy the comedy.