The Music Never Stopped is based on a book, The Last Hippie, by the renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks. It is not the first of his books that has been made into a movie. A 1973 book by Sacks called Awakenings was made into a movie of the same name. That movie, which starred Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, was nominated for an academy award.
While both movies are based on actual people and events and are about people with neurological disorders who somehow were able to respond beyond their limitations when stimulated in specific ways, The Music Never Stops does not come up to the production values that made Awakenings a riveting experience.
For one thing, actors J.K. Sawyer and Lou Taylor Pucci, while they put their hearts into it, still falll short of being entirely believable in their roles as Henry and Gabriel Sawyer. Cara Seymour as Helen Sawyer Is so wooden she is almost ridiculous. In two scenes that called for her to be saddened by the events unfolding she responds with such ridiculous expressions that the viewer wonders if she cares at all.
I could go on about the many ways in which this movie falls short of a quality experience. Children and young teens might enjoy it as the story is easy to follow and progresses over time, uncomplicated by a few flashbacks that add context to the events. But those who consider movies an art form will not find this picture rewarding.
Only one thing gives this movie a hint of quality. When, in moments of animation, Gabe explains to his father the meanings of songs like The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'" or Bob Dylan's "Gates of Eden", his interpretations hit the mark with the accuracy of a mystical poetry scholar.
If only this movie were made as thoughtfully!
While both movies are based on actual people and events and are about people with neurological disorders who somehow were able to respond beyond their limitations when stimulated in specific ways, The Music Never Stops does not come up to the production values that made Awakenings a riveting experience.
For one thing, actors J.K. Sawyer and Lou Taylor Pucci, while they put their hearts into it, still falll short of being entirely believable in their roles as Henry and Gabriel Sawyer. Cara Seymour as Helen Sawyer Is so wooden she is almost ridiculous. In two scenes that called for her to be saddened by the events unfolding she responds with such ridiculous expressions that the viewer wonders if she cares at all.
I could go on about the many ways in which this movie falls short of a quality experience. Children and young teens might enjoy it as the story is easy to follow and progresses over time, uncomplicated by a few flashbacks that add context to the events. But those who consider movies an art form will not find this picture rewarding.
Only one thing gives this movie a hint of quality. When, in moments of animation, Gabe explains to his father the meanings of songs like The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'" or Bob Dylan's "Gates of Eden", his interpretations hit the mark with the accuracy of a mystical poetry scholar.
If only this movie were made as thoughtfully!