The disappointment in Music of the Heart comes from a strangely fragmented narrative that never quite commits to a central story.
Music of the Heart (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:75
Fresh:51
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Meryl Streep's depiction of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things transcends, inspires, and entertains.
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: After her husband leaves her, Roberta Guaspari (Streep) struggles to find a job. When she bumps into an old friend (Quinn), he tells her of a high school that could is without a music teacher. She... After her husband leaves her, Roberta Guaspari (Streep) struggles to find a job. When she bumps into an old friend (Quinn), he tells her of a high school that could is without a music teacher. She meets with the school's principal (Bassett) and states her desire to teach the children the violin. The principal rejects her, citing lack of funding as one of the many excuses why it could never happen. Persistently, she eventually breaks her down and fights to establish a solid, effective program. Ten years later, the program has spread to other schools and is a smashing success. When funds are once again cut and the program is threatened for real, Roberta uses connections to get the injustice printed in the New York Times. A benefit concert ensues at Carnegie Hall, featuring appearances of such luminaries as Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, and Arnold Steinhardt. [More]
Starring: Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Gloria Estefan, Angela Bassett
Starring: Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Gloria Estefan, Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman, Josh Pais, Jay O. Sanders, Charlie Hofheimer, Kieran Culkin, Jane Leeves
Director: Wes Craven
Director: Wes Craven
Screenwriter: Pamela Gray
Producer: Marianne Maddalena, Alan Miller, Walter Scheuer
Composer: Mason Daring
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Release:
Jul 1, 2003
Reviews for Music of the Heart
Even if Music of the Heart brings a tear to your eye, you may still kick yourself for falling for such nonsense.
What saves this movie from being a Lifetime Channel tour-de-force is, of course, the winning performance by Streep.
The key to Meryl Streep's fine performance is that she makes Guaspari unheroically ordinary. Ultimately that makes her even more extraordinary.
Meryl Streep delivers a polished, virtuoso performance that could earn her another well-deserved Oscar nomination, while Angela Bassett, Gloria Estefan, and Aidan Quinn deliver strong support.
A movie that tells a story not from some Hollywood swifty’s febrile imagination, but rather from life.
To see Streep's prickly pear of an instructor blossom along with her struggling students is a rare joy.
Estefan has co-star billing and is even featured on movie posters, but has only a few minutes of screen time and nothing much to do.
Meryl Streep takes what could have been a one-dimensional character and elevates her above soap opera status and makes her interesting and appealing.
Latest News for Music of the Heart
September 28, 2006:
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Horror auteur Wes Craven has announced his return to making his original horror films, and is currently writing his first writing-directing project since 1994's "New... More...
August 18, 2005:
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