Music of the Heart (1999)

There is a lot of dramatic credibility attached to this film, which isn't warranted. Yes, Meryl Streep is the lead and she received an Oscar nomination for the role, but this film is less dramatic than much more soapy. This film falls into the sub-genre of "white woman saves inner city children" which also includes "Freedom Writers" and "Dangerous Minds," and overdone and quite manipulative genre that needs to be done away with. You will either find this true story enlightening and sweet hearted or overly dramatic, based on taste or being able to stomach racially motivated story lines. Though, in general, I find these kinds of films tedious and over the top, the last half hour did make me well up. Real life music teacher Roberta Guaspari is inspirational, and her story is at least treated with respect. It is also interesting to note this is the only film Wes Craven has directed that has nothing to do with horror or sci-fi, and for those unaware of his finesse, this is a great showcase of his talents. This is an entertaining film, if a little overdone in its execution.

Wes Craven (yes, THAT Wes Craven) directed this inspirational biopic about Roberta Guaspari (Meryl Streep), who started a music program in an impoverished inner city middle school that eventually went on to win national attention and acclaim.This film treads awfully close to made-for-T.V. territory, but Streep is such a good actress that she keeps a tight grip on the runaway sentimentality that's always present in the screenplay. But in any case, who cares? This IS a feel good story, and it's a good enough movie that you can simply give in to letting it make you feel good without also making you feel guilty by being suckered.Grade: B+

It truly is inspiring to see such a movie, where the power of music comes to life: not only can you evidently see it in the children and of the character Roberta in the movie, but it touches you as well. A little music goes a long way in life - just ask those students of the past of Roberta!While I love this movie, I just have to laugh a little bit at the user comment of this movie's page on IMDb. Yes, Meryl Streep did well as to learn the violin parts necessary for this movie. But she was not praised by world-class violinists as posted.. Jascha Heifetz died in '87. How on earth would he manage to give her praise like so? Haha.

When I was in second grade, I started to play the violin because I loved the sound. After I started, my mom and dad kept urging me to watch "Music of the Heart" since it was about violins. I always said that I would watch it sometime, but I never got to it. I could never find the tape in our house, and then one night, it was on TV. I went into our living room to watch it, and then when it went to commercials, my dad gave me the tape and I went to my mom's room to watch it. I was surprised about how entertaining and inspiring it was. After I watched it, I immediately took my violin out and starting practicing. Whenever I watch the movie, I practice my violin afterward because I am so inspired to play my best. And, it isn't only inspiring for violin players; my sister plays the flute, and she is inspired to play her instrument well, too. "Music of the Heart" is an entertaining, inspirational, and musical movie that I'm sure will please any music lovers.