My older brother once complained to me that he could never take movie recommendations from me. Book recommendations, sure, but no referrals for movies. I am, to quote him, "one of the most non-discriminating moviegoers of all time." So if you believe in listening to only the most discriminatory of moviegoers, by all means--stop reading now.
My roommate, our friend, and I went and saw August Rush last Saturday. And I have solace in this, at least--even if I am, as my brother cites, an incredibly non-discriminating moviegoer, then I was in like company. We all loved that movie.
I'll admit, right now, that a good percentage of the reason I loved that movie is scrawny, brown-headed, with two adorable dimples and a heck of a lot of acting talent: his name is Freddie Highmore, and I could forgive him in those moments when he didn't sound entirely as American as he should.
Another part of the reason I liked the movie is Irish and has messy hair, and I could forgive him for never being entirely on-pitch. His name is Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
But my liking of certain actors aside, what I enjoyed most about this movie was its theme. I'm a theme girl, valuing theme over plot in many instances. And this, I will admit, is most likely one of those instances--I have a feeling that if I stopped, thought, and started to analyze the entire plot of the movie, that the plot could be shredded in five minutes or so. As has been noted, well, everywhere, it does carry a certain Dickensian aroma that does not, to many minds, work to the movie's favor.
But that is neither here nor there. I loved the message it communicated about music, i.e. music is everywhere, and it has the power to connect people across a variety of boundaries--whether they be cultural, environmental, or socioeconomic.
It also, interestingly enough, conveyed to me the same idea I'd been taught about literature: all music is communicating with all other music, just as all literature is basically communicating with all other literature. This, tangentially, led me to why I really liked this movie: the juxtaposition! I love it when you're watching or reading something that juxtaposes different genres such that, at first, it seems odd. But then, after a while, it dawns on you--it works.
Maybe because all art is talking to all art and only silly humans try to impose divisions where divisions did not necessarily inherently exist . . .
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3 comments:
First: I'm picky about my movies..especially ones that look sappy/plotless.
Reasons I LOVED this movie:
1. It had phenomenal music in it.
2. Freddie is to die for cute, and pulls the innocence/faith of August off with beauty!!
3. Three words: Jonathan Rhys Meyers. *sighs* (I'd do just about anything for a nig..er...time with him)
4. Intriguing premise. I firmly believe that music is the universal language (linguist..I win) because it transcends cultural bounds. And it's nice to see a film portraying that.
5. Jonathan Rhys Meyers! (I know, it's twice...I can't help it!)
Perhaps you're not as picky as you think. Or perhaps you are, and I'm not as non-discriminating as my brother thinks. (For heaven's sake, he thought the acting in Finding Neverland was bad, which is a hunk of bologna. Or baloney. Not sure which :)
And I'll grant you two repetitions of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, if only because he could be talking about anything and I'd be happy as long as I could hear that accent and see that smile . . . Although he ain't got nothin' on Freddie's dimples.
That is all.
Yeah, ok... The theme was really well done. Very happy, very uplifting, and very cool. ^.^
Here here for the music! I must say, I absolutely fell in love with the music. ^.^
Freddie Highmore! Yeah... I'm discovering I really like him...
O.o; And your brother didn't like the acting in Finding Neverland??? ... He did see the movie right? How can he think the acting was bad?! That's one of my favorite movies! Like, EVER!
*breath* Ok... stopping before I go all fan-girl... ^.^;
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