God Help the Girl
by Michael B. Druxman on 04/18/15
April 20, 2015
Since the Best Bets on DVD website is down again until the first of next month, here's my review of GOD HELP THE GIRL, which I watched the other night.
Stuart Murdoch of “Belle and Sebastian” directed, wrote the screenplay and the songs for God Help the Girl, an often charming musical that, sadly, overstays its welcome.
Emily Browning plays a anorexic talented aspiring songwriter in a mental health clinic who runs away to Glasgow where she meets a singer-guitarist (Olly Alexander) and his music student (Hannah Murray), and together they decide to form a band and spend the summing writing and living their songs.
The cast of this film is certainly likable, as are many of the songs, though for some inexplicable reason, the title tune, which is the most memorable, is not performed in the picture. Indeed, it’s only presented as a music video in the “Extras” section of the DVD. Those extras also include deleted scenes and a “making of” featurette.
Part of the problem with God Help the Girl is that Murdoch doesn’t appear to have decided what kind of musical he wanted to make: one where the songs are presented realistically within the story’s context (e.g. Cabaret), or as a fantasy, in which characters burst into song anytime/anywhere (e.g. Singin’ in the Rain), or simply in a character’s imagination (e.g. Chicago). Unfortunately, he employs all three approaches and that makes the film, which runs a half-hour too long, a bit of a mishmash.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot to like here, so if you are a fan of musicals, you should enjoy God Help the Girl.
On DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Michael
