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Cast
Roberta Guaspari (Meryl Streep)
Janet Williams (Angela Bassett)
Brian Turner (Aidan Quinn)
Isabel Vasquez (Gloria Estefan)
Directed by Wes Craven Written by Pamela Gray
Rated PG for sensuality and mild language Running Time: 124
minutes Distributed by Miramax
Music
of the Heart is a mild film that is a little enjoyable because
of its leading actress, Meryl Streep. Music of the Heart is
based off the true story of Roberta Guaspari (Streep). When
Roberta's husband leaves her for another woman, she leaves
the security of her small town and moves to East Harlem. There
she gives kids hope, love and pride to make something of themselves
with the gift of music. After ten years of teaching, the school
decides to cut out the music department. With the support
of friends, students and the community, Roberta sets out to
fight back.
Music
of the Heart is an emotional story that seems unrealistic,
but it is a true-life story. In my opinion, the best thing
in the film is Meryl Streep, because overall the film seems
like a cop out of Mr. Holland's Opus. Wes Craven takes a different
turn by directing Music of the Heart. Craven is a horror film
master that previously directed Nightmare of Elm Street and
Scream. Craven does an admirable job with portraying this
dramatic piece. Don't look for Craven to stop doing horror
though, because his next film Scream 3 opens in February.
Meryl
Streep is just a true gem to watch. Streep's vulnerability
and presentation of an emotional character is terrific. Angela
Bassett is also enjoyable as Roberta's boss Janet Williams.
The best scenes in the film are the ones with Streep and Bassett
together. The two actresses just engage in the film and deliver
fine acting. Singer Gloria Estefan makes her acting debut
as Isabel Vasquez in Music of the Heart. However, she didn't
have enough lines or colors in her character to really judge
if she is a good actress or not.
Pamela
Gray wrote Music of the Heart. Like I said before, the script
doesn't seem believable. Roberta does have all kinds of consequences,
but she overcomes most of them fairly easily. An example in
the film is how she easily gets her teaching job, after Janet
Williams turned her down previously. The script is also jumpy
and needed to be tighten before filming began.
Overall,
Music of the Heart is an okay movie that follows behind the
force of Meryl Streep.
Report
Card Grade: C+
Beastman's
Movie Reviews
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