Some Voices premiered during the
Directors' Fortnight at the
2000 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in UK theaters on 25 August 2000. Though the film garnered mixed reviews, praise for the cast was unanimous. Mark Wyman of
Film Review said the film "showcases some terrific British talent", while
Total Film commended Cellan Jones in his ability to "draw intelligent, effective turns from his cast – Daniel Craig and David Morrissey are excellent".
Time Out wrote "Morrissey skillfully registers abiding filial love tested by simmering exasperation; MacDonald's adept at lippy on top, vulnerable underneath; and Craig's vibrant yet haunted expressiveness tells us everything needful about this doomed sweetheart". Critics were divided over the film's visual effects and production design.
Channel 4, which called the film "one of the best British films of 2000", said the director's vision of west London's "tower blocks, dual-carriageways and crowded streets" captured the central character's disintegrating mental state. The film's sound and visuals as Ray stops taking his medication were singled out as "a clever and mammothly effective technique, communicating not just the strangeness of what's happening to Ray, but also the sheer terror of it".
Total Film agreed, writing, "Perhaps it's the quirky, jerky
This Life camerawork or the dim, grainy film stock, but
Some Voices never reaches out and grabs the audience, remaining a watch rather than an experience". Byrne further stated that in
Some Voices, "the schizophrenic is not demonised as a potential criminal or as a care-in-the-community basket-case", and "Ray's essential humanity is transcribed with sympathy and warmth, and so is the patience and perseverance of Pete, who must shoulder most of the burden of schizophrenia's terrible mystery". == Awards ==