The Music Never Stopped (***)
Directed by: Jim Kohlberg
Starring: JK Simmons, Julia Ormond, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro, Cara
Seymour, Tammy Blanchard, Scott Adsit
Seen: January 10th 2012
*** Out of ****
The Music Never Stopped is based on the essay The Last Hippie by the famous British neurologist and psychologist
Oliver Sacks. It tells the heart-warming story of a father-son relationship strained
by cerebral trauma and a gulf between the two regarding musical taste, but aided
through music therapy and a lot of patience and tolerance.
The movie opens in the 80’s as Henry (Simmons) and his wife Helen
(Seymour) are told their son, whom they’ve not seen for almost 20 years, was
found homeless in New York City. Gabriel (Pucci) has a massive brain tumour for
which he must receive immediate surgery, and the tumour’s presence along with
its removal leaves Gabriel aphasic (partial or total loss of the ability to
articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language) and, more
importantly for this story, with an inability to form new memories. Gabriel
still believes he is in 1968, when the tumour probably started causing his
memory problems. He is near catatonic, but through a series of events and
observations his caretakers start realising Gabriel responds well to music.
Henry approaches the music therapist Dr. Dianne Daly (Ormond), who
starts helping Gabriel and she realises that Gabriel responds best to the music
which drove a wedge between him and his father in the late 60’s: The Beatles,
Bob Dylan, and most specifically The Grateful Dead, Gabriel’s favourite band by
far. Henry, who can’t stand the music, gives in to his determination to shape a
relationship with his son, something he missed out on 20 years earlier, and he
starts almost researching the music to find a place of common interest where he
can connect with his son. Gabriel gets close to normal when his music is
playing, very enthusiastically so, and Henry lives for these moments where he
can start to mend their relationship, even though he himself runs into some
health problems, which only makes him that much more determined to connect with
Gabriel.
The Music Never Stopped is a beautiful movie that effortlessly relays
three different eras (the 50’s, 60’s and 80’s) almost unnoticed. JK Simmons
gives a powerhouse performance that touches each viewer as his Henry interacts
with Gabriel, Helen and Dianne with varying levels of patience and tolerance. The
music in the movie represents only a small slice of the music from the
different eras, but it is entertaining, even when it just forms the backdrop
for some of Gabriel’s clear spells. I enjoyed the movie and can recommend it
for those who want something different from the big bang blockbusters we are
usually saturated with. The Music Never Stopped will make you feel, laugh, and
hopefully think a bit too. It is a quiet little movie, but a good one.
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