# Music of the Heart (1999)

### reviewed by
Mac VerStandig

    Music of the Heart

    3 Stars (Out of 4)

    Reviewed by Mac VerStandig

    critic@moviereviews.org

    http://www.moviereviews.org

    October 26, 1999

    USA Release Date - October 29, 1999

NOTE: Ordinarily, Moviereviews.org will not give away any critical plot points of a film that could be interpreted as "spoilers." However, being that Music of the Heart is based on a true story and that Moviereviews.org feels the film can not be properly credited without such revelations, plot giveaways will appear in the following review. If this bothers you, please note the 3 star rating of the film and stop reading now.

"What does it take to play Carnegie Hall? Practice."

    -Unknown

It takes two hours for Music of the Heart to "play Carnegie Hall," both figuratively and literally. Like the children it portrays, the movie starts from the dark realms of awful cinema and works its way up to a show-stopping performance at the legendary concert hall.

Roberta Guaspari (Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) has two kids, a husband who left her and 50 violins she bought from a small shop in the Mediterranean. Her life desperately needs a jump start and gets one when she meets a man who introduces her to a job as a music teacher at an East Harlem elementary school. She soon finds her job is on the rocks as the men in her life continue to rotate through revolving doors. That is the pattern-like plot of this production. Ultimately, the film chooses a zero-sum answer to these problems and finds her music career at an all-time high when the men in her life finally vanish.

The first hour of Music of the Heart is rather painful. Roberta's character lacks development and consequently seems to be flat. Also lacking depth is the film's "bad guy," a narrow-minded music teacher (Josh Pais) who rejects Roberta out of principle (the movie never explains exactly which principle that is) and conveniently comes and goes from the plot according to when it might be dramatic to have a villain around.

The next 15 minutes of the film are mediocre. They are highlighted by one child's return to Roberta's class (coming after the great old Hollywood scene where he explains be can't be around anymore because "My mom said...") and a glowing concert. Not knowing the running time, you may expect the credits to role at this point. But they don't. Instead the film uses the next 45 minutes to finish its journey from bad to mediocre to excellent.

Director Wes Craven, known for his works of horror, uses some old sentimental tricks to get the audience tearing. One romantic break up scene is highlighted by the classic "But... last night..." and Roberta's two children also have textbook conflicts with their single mother regarding their father's absence.

The city of Harlem plays a strong role in the movie. Roberta's mother is initially reluctant to see her daughter move to that part of town and the film does nothing to combat that stereotype. The noise tracks for these scenes are dominated by sirens; predictably one of Roberta's students is gunned down and killed off screen.

One thing the film does lack is subtlety. The fact that a little boy was playing "We Shall Overcome" on his violin after the aforementioned shooting was a cute and discreet reference. The fact that the entire orchestra begins to play it over and over soon after is an overdone reference that shows how little credit he gives the audience. (Of course, in horror films the foreshadowing and between-the-line moments are meant to be overdone, so perhaps he too is just learning to play the game.)

Even with all its flaws, Music of the Heart is a beautiful film. That is not an excuse for the movie's poor beginning. But as I watched the scenes in Carnegie Hall, I thought of some of the great acts that have taken that stage. In December of 1979 a comedian named Andy Kaufman put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the most original in theatre history. The performance included a dead-on Elvis impression, Robin Williams in disguise and a moment at the end when Kaufman announced he would take the whole audience out for milk and cookies. So, how did this comic genius choose to open the show of his life? He had a character named Tony Clifton take the stage for the sole purpose of irritating and angering the audience. Perhaps it is okay for Music of the Heart to start off rusty because just as Kaufman had Santa's favorite food, this movie has an amazing finale.

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