Customer Reviews

Music From Another Room

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first conclusion I am going to have to make about someone who tells me this movie isn't a fabulously sweet romantic comedy is that he has a crass taste in humour, most likely of the "Spy who shagged me" genre.

Make no mistake, MFAR is light, nutty, often comical and occasionally even laugh-out-loud hilarious (as in the case of almost any scene with the sister Karen, played with wonderful timing by Plimpton). Maybe I enjoyed it a little more than I should have because I ran into it on cable and had absolutely no prior expectations whatsoever.

The predicament of the movie -- a young man (Jude) meets a woman whose birth he had assisted in over a couple of decades ago. This woman (Gretchen) is the only "normal" character in her otherwise quirky family. The interplay between the family members and other supporting cast is quite amusing and original, and there is some dialogue dealing with love and death that is truly moving (e.g., pay attention to what the "Music from another room" stands for, absolutely lyrical).

This is not your average uber-classy fare with geewhiz cinematography or hard-hitting emotional melodrama. It is a simple story of relentless love and devotion, with a pace that you could wrap a cushy evening around. But one thing this confirms yet again is that, man, can Jude Law act! He is confident, credible and very honest with his role as a lovelorn delivery boy (one which he was apparently the first to proclaim in a UK entertainment channel interview that wasn't "his type").

Finally, a surprise that you'll surely not be prepared for comes from Jennifer Tilly (you'll remember her from innumerable side roles, e.g., Jim Carrey's client in Liar Liar) who is simply wonderful in her potrayal of a blind woman's whims and insecurities. Easily her best role to date!

If you aren't expecting a When Harry Met Sally, I'd recommend this movie in a blink.

Thank heavens HBO ran this movie! I knew nothing of it when it was released. No critics talked about it, good or bad, no hype about it - and yet it is one of the most delightful, charming and endearing movies I have seen in years! (I have been a movie fan for 60 years). I loved this movie not only for the storyline (the beginning was so out of the ordinary and completely drew me into the story immediately), the direction, the characters and the actors who portrayed them so beautifully but also for the truly pleasant impact it made on me. That hasn't happened very often in the past 30 years or more. I have seen it 5 times now and enjoyed it more each time. The crazy, dysfunctional family whose lives were turned around after the entrance once again of a grown up Danny who had played such an important part in bringing Anna into the world that he knew from that very day he wanted to marry her when he grew up, was just a marvelous storyline that made this movie a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. I can't say enough for the acting of each person in the movie. Jude Law was outstanding and is only now getting his just recognition in "The Talented Mr. Ripley". Gretchen Mol is another case of a beautiful, talented young actress who has been overlooked for the most part. I loved her character and the way she brought it to the screen! Jennifer Tilley, Brenda Blethyn and the rest of the cast, especially the young man who played Jesus were all marvelous. I can't believe this movie is unavailable now, especially since it has been on the cable and satellite stations. I only hope it will be re-released and wonder if it could be done in the DVD format. A sincere fan of MUSIC FROM ANOTHER ROOM.

I just loved this very romantic movie (besides being a rabid Jude Law fan...) I've seen it at least 5 or 6 times, and will be purchasing it today. I found it to be very uplifting, not to mention hilarious comedy, especially the scenes of Anna's birth as well as Martha Plimpton's scathing diatribe in the restaurant. Maybe some cheesy parts, but the coin tossing was endearing, and Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply" is the perfect choice for Danny and Anna's choice of each other.

A wonderfully warm, poignant look at unique family dynamics and the idiosyncrasies that weave the tapestry of family bonds. The lessons of co-dependent dysfunctional family relationships are humorously portrayed. The manner in which they come to realization is clear and well illustrated in using the most dependent to demostrate the greatest strength and awareness. This one is a sleeper. This is one I would place in my home video library...

This film is a romance where the Meet Cute (to borrow a term from Roger Ebert) occurs when boy meets girl the moment she's born. He is Danny (Jude Law) and she is Anna (Gretchen Mol)...and as a small child he delivers her when her mother goes into labor. Soon after Danny moves to England with his American father. When he comes back twenty (or so) years later, he meets Anna by coincidence and realizes that he loves her and is destined to be with her. Awww...anyway, the story follows their romance as well as the relationship between Nina (Jennifer Tilly), Anna's blind sister, and Jesus, a dishwasher. A few hilarious dinner scenes are thrown in with the rest of the (extremely disfunctional) family--rounded out by Brenda Blethyn as the dizzy matriarch.

Despite an interesting cast, this movie is quite cheesy. However, after I write this review I am heading out to the local Blockbuster to rent it again. Why? To see Jude Law's excellent performance, of course. He takes an unforgiving role as a lovesick puppy (check out the scenes where he gets knocked out by a car door, and--my personal favorite--dresses like a pig while feminist actresses beat him with sticks) and makes it sparkle. A lesser actor would have appeared nerdy at best, pathetic at worst. Jude is mischeviously charming and we root for him to get the girl, even though Gretchen Mol's portrayal of Anna makes her irritatingly cranky for most of the film.

Check this movie out, though, if you like sentimental films about romance...or Jude Law in a button-down shirt.

This movie is fantastic. It's funny, romantic and, well, fantastic. Not much of a Jude Law fan, I was in love with him by the end of the movie. Jennifer Tilley was not her playing her normal, ditzy role. One of her lines from the movie pretty much sums it up... "Danny's (Jude Law) love for [Anna] is so big, it spilled over and effected us all". This movie will effect you!

I absolutely adore this movie! It had my full attention from start to beginning, with everything from romance to comedy. Jude Law is definitely someone to look out for, with his irresistable combination of subtle charisma and talent, and Gretchen Mol does a great job as the leading lady. The rest of the cast also give wonderful performances.

Brief summary of the plot: Danny (Jude Law) helps Anna (Gretchen Mol) into the world when he's just five years old, then claims in a cute little way, 'I'm going to marry her'. Twenty-five years later, Danny meets up with Anna again 'by fate' and becomes infatuated with her. However, she has a boyfriend, one of a few obstacles standing in the way of a possible romance between the two. The movie basically revolves around Danny's attempts to pursue Anna, as well as a few incidents with her family.

To end this review, this is a brilliant movie. It didn't do nearly as well as it should have at the box office, but luckily, you can catch it on video, so go rent it now! :)

I saw this movie when it came out at the cinema's about 5 years ago I think and I remember getting out of the cinema's and my friend and I just kept on walking thinking what are we doing, where are we going. The fact is we didn't care . It gave me a sense of freedom and spontanueity. I loved it so much that as soon as I thought it would be out on Video I searched for it everywhere only to find one copy in this cheap shop where I bought it for $5 and yet I can not find in one DVD in Australia. This website is the first time I have seen any existance of Music From Another Room on DVD. I think it is the most beautiful, powerful and hopeful movie I have ever seen. It's our dreams and hopes of true love and romance. I idea of how powerful love can be and that we all would do anything for love(to find the right person). It just shows every aspect of love and how different people react to it. The fear and lust and sense people get when love if around. I don't want to say anymore and give it away but it is one of my most favourite movies that a lot of people have not heard of and everyone can see. Everyone needs to experience the Music From Another Room and just the title explains love in itself
thanks for the experience

MUSIC FROM ANOTHER ROOM is definitely not just another romantic comedy. Yes, much of this screenplay is formulaic where you will know what is going to happen next, but so what-it works, and most effectively. From the very moment that young Danny is asked to reach in Brenda Blethyn's womb to untangle the umbilical chord wrapped around her birthing-baby's neck, we enter the unusual world of passion,fate and destiny. Forward around twenty years and Danny (a very funny and appealing Jude Law) is destined by fate to meet the baby he helped deliver and has vowed to marry.

What puts this rom-com above many others is the EXCEPTIONAL ensemble cast of actors that understand their parts and act them to the hilt.In fact, other than Gretchen Mol's character Anna, the baby grown up, who's character is overly responsible and self-deprived of passion ( therefore rightly not so animated) the rest of the cast, Brenda Blethyn, Jennifer Tilly,Jane Adams, Jeremy Piven, and ESPECIALLY Martha Plimpton and Vince Laresca are comedically quite effective in saving this film from becoming ordinary.

Yes, this film is formulaic,but think about it-formulas are time tested and true-that's why they work. MUSIC FROM ANOTHER ROOM just does it a bit better than most hitting all the right notes.

"Music From Another Room"...strange title for a romantic comedy, perhaps, but it's just another metaphor for love, according to the romantic Danny (the always enchanting and swoon-inducing Jude Law). The storyline is sappy and somewhat contrived (boy tells his father he's going to marry the baby girl he helped deliver, then twenty-odd years pass and they meet up again; sparks fly) but the characters are engaging and the actors do what they can with the sometimes choppy dialogue. Sometimes the movie seems schizophenic, like it's not sure if it's trying to have a moral and a message or if it's just entertaining; characters try to hard to be eccentric. A few subplots all dealing with romance as well are thrown in the mix too, some more successful than others; all pale next to the Law-Mol thread. Still, the movie manages to come through with a general feeling of mushiness that will thrill any closet romantic, especially in the scene at the bakery ("Heads... it was heads," as Savage Garden plays in the background, is enough to make your heart skip a beat and make you sigh). For plot inconsistancies and a scattered storyline, two stars; for sheer entertainment value and for success as a romance, five stars. averaged to four (I rounded up).