By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jim Kohlberg
Starring: Cara Seymour | J.K. Simmons | Julia Ormond | Lou Taylor Pucci | Mia Maestro | Tammy Blanchard
Country: united_states
Year: 2011
Running time: 105
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1613062/
Jason says: “As near as I can tell, J.K. Simmons has never had a starring role in the movies or on television. He’s been part of ensembles, and stolen scenes in supporting parts, but being the first guy listed in the credits here seems to be a first for him. As might be expected, he’s up to the job, although there are times when the rest of the movie isn’t quite up to his standard.
“Simmons plays Henry Sawyer, who when the film opens in 1986 receives a surprising phone call – his son, Gabriel (Lou Taylor Pucci) is in the hospital. It looks like he’s been living on the street – neither Henry nor his wife Helen (Cara Seymour) has seen him in nearly twenty years – and the diagnosis is not good: A tumor has spread throughout Gabriel’s brain, and even once it’s removed, his memory is severely damaged. When Gabriel seems to respond to music, Henry looks for someone who can build on that, coming up with Dianne Daley (Julia Ormond). Of course, Gabriel regaining his memory is a double-edged sword, as it forces to Sawyers to confront just why Gabriel left home to begin with.
“The connection between music and memory is made early, in flashback scenes featuring Gabriel as a five-year-old played by Max Anitsell. It’s an obvious but canny move, in that it works to establish this sort of musical therapy as not a miracle cure, but
something that Gabriel (and, for that matter, Henry) might respond to particularly well. It also demonstrates what a changeable and context-dependent thing memory itself can be. In many ways, it’s a much more effective way of getting the point across than when music actually jolts Gabriel out of his fugue and he starts going on about why certain Grateful Dead songs are so brilliant – after all, musical know-it-alls can be annoying even when they are miraculous.
“There’s a lot of good material in the flashbacks, actually, leading up to the day when things between the teenage Gabriel and Henry hit the boiling point. It’s a nice portrayal of the generational tensions in 1968, with both Simmons’s square father and Pucci’s long-hair son portrayed as reasonable people. Pucci’s at his best during these scenes, passionate but naive, with an undercurrent of righteous anger to go alongside his love of music. It’s something the older Gabriel is missing, even when the music has him thinking more clearly; with rare exceptions, Pucci’s performance there is mostly a collection of familiar childlike tics.
“Simmons makes his scenes work, though. The early scenes, as Henry learns about Gabriel and his condition, are about delivering the right balance of stoicism and despair at any given moment, and while much of the rest of the time he’s playing the model of a square, he also shows us that this man has the potential to be open-minded and flexible. Writers Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks (working from an essay by Dr. Oliver Sacks) mention that Henry is a mechanical engineer early on, but it’s not just to give him a nerdy job to contrast with his free-spirited son; it presents him as a pragmatic, problem-solving individual. His later scenes, when he gets to do some funny fish-out-of-water stuff while also handling a weird situation are especially good.
“The women in the picture don’t get quite so fleshed out – Cara Seymour and Julia Ormond are there to connect emotionally and struggle with Henry’s stubbornness, while Tammy Blanchard and Mia Maestro are the girls Gabriel falls for in the past and the present (respectively). Director/producer Jim Kohlberg mostly keeps things in familiar territory, with a lot of the standard beats for this sort of family drama. There’s an inescapable disease-of-the-week vibe to it, to the point where it’s kind of surprising that the movie is playing theaters; television seems to be its natural home, although broadcast networks don’t do this sort of thing any more and cable channels probably wouldn’t spend the money for the music rights.
“That’s not a negative in and of itself – when the credits role, those standard beats will have done their job. The audience’s with a more direct combination to the music may get a bit more out of it, but even for those who don’t have that immediate hook, it’s a decent story, ably told. 3 1/2 cats
“Seen 3 April 2011 in AMC Boston Common #6 (first-run)”
Toni says: “THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED (also a Grateful Dead song) is based on the writing of Oliver Sacks (AWAKENINGS) which is loosely based on this own music therapy with patients with memory loss. J.K. Simmons plays Henry Sawyer, who reunites with this son Gabriel in 1986, 20 years after they had a serious fallout due to differences. Gabriel has a large benign brain tumor which prevents him from creating new memories but music is used as a way to overcome time and hardships between Gabriel and his dad. Henry was stuck in music and the earlier times and in the mid toe late 1960s they recreate what led to the falling out through music (all between 1964 and 1970).
“As soon that the music ‘stops,’ Gabriel loses his memories, which the film does a good job of showing how it affects the family around Gabriel. Yes, there is a connection to the Dead since one of the son’s favorite bands is the Grateful Dead. There is a great scene for example where Gabriel is trying to explain what the point of the song ‘Truckin” is. Also, another odd connection is the connection of The Beatles cover of the ‘Till There Was You’ which also performed in Henry’s generation by Peggy Lee (and others). The same thing happens with ‘Touch of Grey’ is one of the closing scenes at a Dead reunion concert…bridging 1986 to
1966.
“I think J.K. Simmons is an underrated actor and puts a compelling performance with more of a role with more weight than in films like JUNO since he had more to work with. Like with his work on Mike Judge’s EXTRACT, he is great at playing an every-man role and is believable. Lou Taylor Pucci (as Gabriel) was an interesting casting choice playing the visual presentation of the body of of a late thirties man stuck in the mind of an 18 year old. Cara Seymour as the mother and Julia Ormond as the musical therapist are also very powerful in their portrayals. I hope more people get to see this film on DVD or streaming than did in the very limited theatrical release the film had.
“Quiz question – Try to do your research to determine whether The Tulips’ ‘Summer Song’ featured in the film is from the 1960s and who are members of the ‘super group.’
“(Seen on Netflix streaming) We interviewed the production designer months ago on Spoiler Alert Radio who moved up the ranks as an art director. 4 or 5 cats”