The Voices

Jerry Hickfang is a cheerful factory worker in a small American town who has just started a job at a bathtub plant. He lives alone with his pets, his cat Mr. Whiskers and his dog Bosco, and he sees a court-appointed therapist who makes sure he takes medication for his schizophrenia. Jerry stops taking the pills on his own, and his world changes: he can talk with his animals, and they push him in opposite directions. Bosco urges him to stay good and pursue a normal life, while Mr. Whiskers encourages darker impulses. Jerry also develops a crush on Fiona, a British woman who works in the factory's accounting department.

The film was directed by Marjane Satrapi, the third of the five features listed for her, following Persepolis in 2007 and Chicken with Plums in 2011. Michael R. Perry wrote the screenplay, and Ryan Reynolds plays Jerry as well as voicing several animals, with Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver, Ella Smith and Paul Chahidi in supporting roles.

Released in 2014 and running 104 minutes, the film mixes comedy, crime, fantasy and horror, and was produced in Germany and the United States on a budget of 11 million dollars. It earned about 2 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.3 out of 10 from 67,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from 1,960 votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 97 reviews is slightly higher than those audience scores.