Not a masterpiece, but in the spirit of Christmas I can’t say anything good about this movie, as well as nothing bad. For the directorial debut, Rob Marshall did well, but nothing more. Yes, "Annie" is able to create a New Year's mood, all the pluses and end there.
The film, although television, looks expensive, which is good. The scenery of New York during the Great Depression, although it looks fake, but on the whole it is quite realistic. This is especially true of the palace where the billionaire lives. Looking at him, there is no feeling of cheap forgery, his house really looks rich.
Two actors from Titanic migrated to the picture: Victor Garber as a billionaire and Katie Bates as the charming antagonist Miss Hannigan. The latter played her role as the mistress of the orphanage with all the charisma, giving her all to the full program. As much as I could, of course. Because for all the goodness of her acting, the work itself cannot be said to be at least outstanding. Annie is not the most exciting musical. Three songs are remembered (Hard Knock Life, Tommorow and Little Girls), but the language does not turn to call them genius, and in the arrangement in which they are presented here. In the same film adaptation of Annie in 2014 (with Cameron Diaz), the number about Little Gulz looks much more expressive, tearful and sensual. Katie Bates, of course, is cool and her performance delivers, too. The trouble is, there's not much creativity in the whole TV movie. You can blame it on the fact that this is Rob's first work in the director's chair. Because from his later works it is clear that this guy can do better.
Actually, I'm happy for Rob Marshall. Having started his career with a small television musical at the end of the last century, in 2023 he releases a much more ambitious in terms of special effects film “The Little Mermaid”: also a musical, but already quite qualitatively of a different level.
I don’t want to say anything about the girl as Annie. She did well, she came up for her role, but I didn’t see anything special about her character. Except for unstoppable optimism and luck.
Alan Cumming appeared here as the criminal brother of Miss Hannigan. It was nice to see him here, Broadway musicals are definitely his element. Before participating in this television film, he successfully played the role of Conferance in the revived stage production of Cabaret (to which I also mentioned Rob Marshall).
5 out of 10
(for Katie Bates' phenomenal charisma)