Review by Gorrman Lee.

Great World of Sound marks the directorial debut of Craig Zobel, who is an associate of David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls). When I saw Green’s name in the credits as a producer I instantly became excited, as Green is known for beautifully crafted stories about smalltown-America, brilliant and at times improvised acting, and wonderful cinematography. Great World of Sound hints at these elements of Green’s work, but doesn’t fully flourish in the same way.

Great World of Sound follows Martin, a radio technician who gets a new job at smalltime music label called The Great World of Sound. Martin’s job is to scout musical talent from across smalltown America and sign them to the label, but he soon discovers that the company is mostly a pyramid scam.

Martin is mostly a likeable, witty character, and because the viewer wants to see him do the right thing, the plot mostly works. But the film itself is also inconsistent. The film doesn’t know if it is a dark dramedy (about Martin realizing his position and wanting to do the right thing), or a slapstick comedy about talentless Americans auditioning for potential producers as in American Idol reject episodes. Both are funny, but both aspects of the film feel jammed into Great World of Sound, and they don’t really work together all that cohesively. Unfortunately, Martin’s growth as a character which was the compelling story element takes a backseat during the audition sequences that were too many in number and lasted far too long.

The Great World of Sound
Craig Zobel | USA | 2006 | 106min

Sat. Sept. 29 | 9:15pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Tue. Oct. 2 | 12:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Sat. Oct. 6 | 12:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre