Atração Irresistível

Music From Another Room is the story of Danny (Jude Law), returning to his US hometown after spending over 20 years in England with his father, who has now passed away. By coincidence, he runs into the Swan family, who his father and himself used to be acquainted with, and especially one of the daughters, the beautiful Anna (Gretchen Mol), catches his attention. Before Danny moved to England, he helped setting Anna to this world by removing the chord that was twisted around her neck during her birth, and at that point, he exclaimed a wish to marry her someday...

This is first of all a romantic comedy, with Danny's chase for Anna as the main plot, and quite a lot of interesting sub-plots and characters. It is most enjoyable, and in the end a real feel-good movie. The script is intelligent, and at times, extremely funny. Especially Danny's landlord, Mr. Klammer, has got some killer lines early on.

The acting is also excellent. Jude Law is his usual self, well-acting and beautiful, Brenda Blethyn can do no wrong on the screen, it seems, and Gretchen Mol shows that she is more than just a pretty face. But the real stand-out performance is Jennifer Tilly as the blind sister Nina...I'm really wondering when she's going to go get the recognition she obviously deserves... A great cast all together.

The film has a few flaws, the most notable being a rather predictable story, but excellent acting and witty writing more than make up for that. Overall, Music From Another Room is a highly recommendable romantic comedy, far better than most straight-on-video stuff.

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.

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 certainly recommended viewing, for what it is and despite what it fails to be. "Writer" Charlie Peters constructed as good a screenplay as you will ever find in the "straight" romantic genre. Unfortunately there is a failure in the execution as "director" Charlie Peters drops the ball in his casting decisions and in his efforts to extract the necessary performances from the two leads, Jude Law (Danny) and Gretchen Mol (Anna). And solid efforts from the supporting cast are not enough to make up for these key deficiencies.

Peters' story was inspired by Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina". It is Danny's fate, shortly after arriving in town, to stumble across Grace Swan (Brenda Blethyn) and her family who he has not seen since he was five. "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". At age five he had assisted his physician father in delivering daughter Anna (like the book the family's three daughters are named Anna, Karen, and Nina). Seconds after Anna's birth, 5 year-old Danny had vowed that they would one day be married. But there is no indication in the screenplay that the grown-up Danny has come to town for this purpose, on the contrary he came to be with another woman who he has fallen in love with but who dumps him and moves away shortly after his arrival.

Peters should get credit for a great title, as "Music From Another Room" is a metaphor Danny uses to illustrate how he has felt in the past when he was in love. The idea being that love is like listening to a favorite song playing in the distance and coming back on the same beat of the song when it has been periodically drowned out by closer noises.

He should also get credit for the originality of the two-headed coin flip sequence; which sets up the film's resolution according to the flip of a regular coin. The irony being the characters' ability to flip this device of randomness/destiny into an exercise of their free will.

Although not a comedy, the film is has a lot of charm and some funny moments. Even with its flaws it is better than average but this does leave you regretting that Peters did not recognize his limitations as a director and bring in someone who could have better executed the ambitious vision of his screenplay.

The problem is that the quirky and original elements, which make the screenplay so good, require exceptional performances from the lead characters who must non-verbally convey a whole lot of character motivation as well as several moments of profound revelation. For "actors" up to this challenge (and for a skilled director), the roles offer a wonderful "acting for the camera" opportunity. For Law, Mol, and Peters it is way too much to ask and the result is strained and unconvincing. Which means that the mixes of sadness and joy, fate and free will, ignorance and revelation never achieve the dimensionality they should have. The failure to fill in the blanks with behavioral information combined with elements that were deleted in the editing process introduces an element of incoherence that ultimate undermines an excellent story.

Law (who has certainly demonstrated acting ability in most of his films)has stated that he regrets doing "Music From Another Room" and that he let himself be talked into the part. This may actually be true as he certainly gives very little of himself to the performance. The interesting thing is that the part actually has more potential than roles he has chosen and into which he has thrown a lot of energy.

Brenda Blethyn and Jane Adams turn in great performances and one can only wish that Adams and Mol had traded parts.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Rail-thin, greasy-haired Jude Law falls for rail-thin, bizarrely-coiffed and made up Gretchen Mol in this uneven romantic comedy about a guy down on his luck who meets a gal from an eccentric family -- and decides he's going to marry her. He actually first meets her when she is born, but then doesn't meet her again until 25 years later. The only thing standing in his way is her highly successful, very handsome and unflappable fiancé, played by character actor Jon Tenney. Her mom is played by Brenda Blehtyn, but this is not a Bletheyn movie and she is relegated to intermittent appearances. She also has a younger sister (Jen Tilly) who has been blind most of her life and hasn't been out of the house in a good long while. There are several other quirky family members lurking about, including a married brother with an eye for the ladies (played by Jeremy Piven), although none of these folks get enough screen time to make much of an impression. The editing or perhaps the script itself leaves something to be desired. And unfortunately, there is absolutely no chemistry between Law and Mol. None. Zip. Zilch. This quasi-chick flick is recommended for undiscriminating female viewers only.