The musical movie that was “a great escape” for Halle Berry

By Team Pune Media On May 24, 2023 31

Actor Halle Berry initially started out as a model and finished as the runner-up in a Miss USA beauty pageant. This was followed by roles in the film industry, and her breakout project arrived in the form of the 1992 comedy Boomerang alongside Eddie Murphy. Berry then scored performances of higher note, such as The Flintstones and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

It was during the 2000s, though, that Berry cemented her place on the Hollywood film scene, particularly after she scooped the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ after playing in the romantic drama Monster’s Ball. Several acclaimed performances followed, including her portrayal of Storm in the X-Men films and the Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day.

Berry once named the film that was “a great escape” to her as a child. She told the Academy Award website A-Frame of her loneliness when she was young and how watching a 1965 musical drama provided a source of comfort. “I was raised by a single mom, and I was home alone a lot,” Berry said. “Which is probably why I watched The Sound of Music so many times — it was a great escape.”

“I think most people enjoy movies because they get to escape, but I always felt like I didn’t see myself and the stories that I knew to be true reflected,” she added. “There was always a disconnect because I was longing to see my life and connect to it that way.”

The Sound of Music stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, and others in supporting roles. The Robert Wise-directed film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical and is widely considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, musical films of all time.

Reminiscing on her particular memories of the film, Berry noted: “As a small girl, I remember one of the movies I used to watch over and over and over was The Sound of Music — probably because it was on public television. It seemed like it was on every weekend, and I just have a fond childhood memory of it that I haven’t been able to shake.”

“It’s a movie that I’ve required my children to watch and something that we share together,” she added. Berry drew a comparison between The Sound of Music and the 2020 Pixar film Soul because she feels that her children can connect with the animated movie in the same way that she did with the musical class.