jamesleggio-40957 Review of The Music of Regret

The Music of Regret (2006)

Surprisingly Effective Puppets (plus Meryl Streep)

[8/10 · 2 February 2024]

Currently available on the Criterion Channel in a pristine print, this 44-minute film is divided into three short Acts, performed by puppets. In Act I, the unexpected sources of regret among selfish individual puppet characters carry considerable emotional weight, with no humans on camera to dwarf the evident suffering of the little figurines. In Act II, Meryl Streep -- in her familiar human form -- tries to choose a lover from among several candidate puppets, all of whom seem diminished by her larger physical form and committed singing. Act III, in which prop-like torsos are supported by actual ballet dancers' legs, while apparently auditioning for theatrical roles, slightly disappoints, because no member of this desperate little Chorus Line of hopefuls has a face.