Le 'cygne' du destin

OK, if you're in the mood for a slightly nutty romantic comedy, go for this one.

The subplot, with Jennifer Tilly's performance as a shy, sheltered blind girl, reluctantly coming out of her shell, is totally luminous (sorry 'bout the cliche, but no other word fits), without resorting to the corniness of "A Patch of Blue." To me, it was actually a more affecting story than the main plotline.

The other actors do a great job, especially Brenda Blethyn (what do they teach in British acting class?), Martha Plimpton, and Jayne Adams. The story moves along nicely, and one event seems to flow naturally into another.

My guess is, if there had been an A-List Hollywood star on board, like, eg, Bruce Willis, this little film might have gotten quite a bit more recognition. But the chemistry would have been completely different.

Bring a date and some popcorn, and enjoy.

"Music from Another Room" is a light-hearted romantic comedy about a persistent chap with his heart set on one woman. Jude Law's engaging performance as the lovestruck Danny itself makes the film worth seeing. Jennifer Tilly (Anna's blind sister, Nina), Vincent Laresca (Jesus, Anna's boyfriend/husband), Martha Plimpton (Karen, Anna's feminist sister), Jane Adams (Anna's gun-toting sister in law) also deliver wonderful performances in their offbeat supporting roles. The only significant error is in casting Gretchen Mol as Danny's Anna, because Mol never allows us to understand why Danny or any man should bother with the bland and one-dimensional Anna. Mol's Anna is unlikeable from beginning to the end of the film and unfortunately never seems to be worthy of Danny's admiration.

When I first began to watch this movie, I thought, OH BOY this is going to be BORING! The plot did not make a whole lot of sense and the characters seemed to be picked out of nowhere. There was nothing cohesive about this movie at ALL!! Then, Jesus appears (the character named Jesus that is) and the audience is drawn away from the main romance (which at this point seems to be beyond any hope) to a side romance that is truer to life than anything I had ever seen. The instant and simple bond between Nina and Jesus was almost electric. It was not sensual or erotic, it was sweet and endearing. It was how love SHOULD be. Its the kind of romance/friendship/love that everyone looks for. One that is selfless and kind. It is worth watching this movie JUST to see the Nina/Jesus romance.... This movie proves that side romances are indeed the best, because they restore our hope in what seems to be an impossible goal.

I found myself hating and loving this movie throughout the entire running time. Other than Gretchen Mol, there are some good performances, but the screenplay fails time and again to latch onto a real emotion or life-situation. I really like Jude Law but I think he was supposed to have turned this part down when it was offered.

However, the movie was made for me by Vincent Laresca, who played Jesus. He was so unbelievably nice and loving to Jennifer Tilly's character that I cried at his performance. Thank you, Vincent, and congratulations on your career.

Just like the other comment above, I had never heard of this film before but saw it (twice!) on the in-flight entertainment of a long flight back from down under. The overall feeling of the film is a bit like a condensed John Irving novel (Hotel New Hampshire): a sprawling storyline concerning an eccentric family with delightful sub-plots involving the births, deaths and loves of the various members. But because the film works on a much smaller scale than a huge doorstop novel, the characters are developed very economically in the film. However, thanks to an absolutely inspired bit of casting, with the likes of Jeniffer Tilly and Brenda Blethyn as the dying mother, the film works extremely well. And of course the chemistry between the two leads, Jude Law and Gretchen Mol, is undeniable and provides much of the appeal of the film. An absolute must see love story which skips beautifully over the potential cliches of the genre, and will have you laughing and crying in equal measures.