Listen to Your Heart

No matter how well or badly one thinks of this story, the entire film suffers by the falseness of the portrayal of deafness. The lead actress is clearly not deaf and her signing is terrible at best. It's unfortunate that hearing actors continue to play deaf roles when there are competent and skilled deaf actors. In addition, the role of the interpreter also rings false with a woman who wouldn't pass even the most basic of sign language tests for competency.

Watching it now even makes me laugh out loud. The lead actress' signing is just horrendous. Was anyone who was deaf even remotely involved in this film or even speak up?

FAIL.

As I watched this film it brings you closer to the characters and you go on a roller- coaster ride of emotions even as a man I cried,esp since my wife is going through cancer to so I can relate to some of the storyline.to the director actors and producer it was a very nice film.I esp liked the touch and affection that was showed toward Nicole who was deaf but how also how love can conquer all,if only people are linked together for the right reasons.another thing that touched me was the act of kindness shown to the guy on the street selling papers to make a living as that is what life is like in the real world I guess with the $500 he was given he bought himself a new suit.if only the girl had of got her man she over come obstacles for would it have been nice to see. But I guess that was not the object of the film overall as said previously a good watchful film.

I saw this movie just last night and I absolutely loved it. :) I was really surprised how taken back by it I was. Before I began to watch it, I saw it had a decent 6.8/10 rating on IMDb, and anything 6 or higher I'll watch. I really grew to love the characters. The relationship between Danny and Ariana is just beautiful. I'm a guy, so I'm not going to comment on the male lead actor's looks. Now the actress who plays the female lead, is so cute and beautiful and gorgeous, but not just that...throughout the movie, she just does such a beautiful job at connecting and developing her relationship with the male lead. I basically just loved how they were both really nice people, very sweet individuals, they weren't criminals or anything, it was such a sweet story. It's like a really smaller scale of The Notebook in my opinion, that's the quality of the film in my opinion. Not only did I grow to love their relationship with each other and how they treated each other, but I just really loved the actress and how she portrayed her character. She was so cute throughout the film that I cried a little. That's how much I enjoyed it. I would love to see her do more romance films, or even bigger films too, I see a lot of great potential for the both of them. :)

Danny Foster (Kent Moran) is a starving artist in NYC. He's saving money as a waiter to buy equipment to make a music demo. Ariana (Alexia Rasmussen) is a deaf sheltered 21 year old under the control of her domineering mother Victoria (Cybill Shepherd). She decides to study music. Danny gives his number to her at the restaurant and they start dating. When her mother discovers the relationship, she tries to separate them.

The young leads are photogenic and appealing. Cybill Shepherd comes into this movie too hard and doesn't have the nuance. She is an over-the-top controlling mother. There is a big difference between this indie and the best music indies like Once. The music is sub par. It is simple lackluster ballets. I don't know Kent Moran's musical history but it can't be that great. The plot is very sitcomy basically centers around a misunderstanding and then turns into a melodrama. This starts out with some promise and two very nice leads. It deteriorates as the movie gets into the second half.

I know this movie may be stereotypical or cliché'... But it's a movie isn't it? Movies can be a variety of things from fantasy to real life portrayal. And I feel sad for those who did not think fondly of this movie because it's not about what or how the movie is done but the message and moral it is trying to demonstrate.

In regards to the deaf culture (someone else mentioned about ASL and the interpreter)... I am deaf, completely. The movie is not meant to share with the world about the deaf community, but rather the effort that the hearing world should try to understand. It's a matter of being objective than subjective to the world around us.

With regards to the movie and sign language... Keep in mind that Sign Language changes almost constantly depending on the location. An example is the sign for "restroom" which could mean "toilet" in one area while it means another in another area.

As for the interpreter - keep in mind that interpreters are meant to match the signing level of their clients, you don't want an advance interpreter signing for someone who just learned the language... It's like saying the word "Educational Institution" to a kindergarten rather than saying "school" ... you get the idea...

If only you can understand the meaning of the movie and try to put yourself into their emotions and feelings... you'll enjoy the movie.