Music Within (2007)

I had no preconceptions going into this movie and at the end it almost bought me to tears. The acting, even by innocuous characters like the army buddies, was spot on by every one. The story itself was inspirational and the camera work was flawless. A fantastic re-telling of a great story worth the effort. Intelligent comedy weaved amongst hard to face issues makes this a definite "Excellent" to all my friends.

Fantastic script quirky at times and heart wrenching at others. Fantastic Cast and great acting across the board,, Everyone should watch and enjoy this great movie and story!! Yul Vazquez character is right on, and the character of "ART" what a fantastic job congratulations to Micheal sheen. Ron Livingston is absolutely spot on throughout. Melissa George does a great job,, but the list of cast members in this movie is absolutely great from top to bottom they all were wonderful. To put it in just a few words the storyline is great and brilliantly written, you will laugh, cry and come away from it with a new point of view, and Im not sure if it was in theaters or not but it absolutely SHOULD BE!!

A Celebration of Life and the Music Within Each of Us, April 14, 2008 By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviewsThe life of the extraordinary survivor Richard Pimentel is a fine biography that manages to explore the many phases of a unique man's life with humor, tenderness, and bravado. Though barely recognized in its theatrical release, MUSIC WITHIN should hopefully find a wide audience in the form of this well constructed DVD. There are many significant lessons to be learned from this story (written by Bret McKinney, Mark Andrew Olsen and Kelly Kennemeras) as well as a large dose of entertainment from some superb actors directed by Steven Sawalich (credited with the original idea for the film). Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) entered the world as one of the survivors in a series of miscarriages by his mother (Rebecca De Mornay), a deeply disturbed woman who surrendered her only living child to a Catholic orphanage at birth. From there Pimentel grew up with bizarre circumstances, raised by his Chinese father who dies from a working accident. Desperately needing to belong and to recognized, Pimentel became an expert public speaker, but his efforts to gain admission to college were thwarted by college speech professor Ben Padrow (Hector Elizondo) who admired Pimentel's technical abilities on the stage but says he needs to live life to find his 'music within' before he can succeed in college level oratory. Out of need for employment and guarantee for a college education Pimentel joins the military, is sent to Vietnam, where a blast of incoming explosions disables him with deafness. Released from the military without the benefits of Veteran funds, Pimentel deals with his inability to hear, meets Art Honeyman (Michael Sheen) disabled by cerebral palsy and the two strike up a warm friendship: the two can understand each other and form a bond stronger than the critical eye of the 'normal world'. Pimentel meets the beautiful Christine (Melissa George) and soon they bed only to have Pimentel discover the Christine shares her bed with another man. From this point the story picks up a pace that is breathless as Pimentel gains his education and a good job, only to join a group of disabled veterans, and eventually devote his life to fighting for the rights of the disabled. And this is all true! Livingston finds the right balance between dark humor and ambition to create change in a world that views the disabled as 'ugly', and together with Michael Sheen's impeccable performance as the multifaceted cerebral palsy stricken Ken, the spot-on actors transcend the 'docudrama' genre and offer us unforgettable characters that provide a richly entertaining story as well as a plea for understanding the plight of the disabled. The features included with the DVD are full of interviews with the real Richard Pimentel and the actors' and director's responses to the formation of the American Disabilities Act that resulted from this amazing young man's struggle to find his music within. It is a wild ride of a comic film with a very tender message. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

Mr. Pimentel took many steps in the direction of helping people challenged with day to day tasks. We're all aware of wheelchair ramps, larger toilet stalls and wider, more convenient parking places for the handicapped. I was not as aware of the intolerance dealt with every day by the public. The ignorance shown by the waitress first encountered in the pancake house seems to be prevalent even today. Here in San Diego a man with a service dog was refused service not once but twice a a local McDonalds. "Please leave your dog outside" doesn't work for a sight-challenged gentleman, yet in two separate incidents that was the request. I say have these young people watch the movie to help open their eyes to the world around them they may choose not to see. Thank you for entertaining and teaching us in the same film. I hope this work receives recognition as the art it truly is and captures awards near and far.