F. Murray Abrahamson's Performance Carries The Movie

Rating: 5/10 (30 May 2011)

Visually, the movie is pretty, and F. Murray Abrahamson's performance as Salieri is what keeps the movie going. However, the movie is overlong and the title character is depicted as a buffoon who can compose great works without even trying. Arguably it is natural for Hollywood to take artistic license and not try to be too realistic, but in this case they overdid it.
For one thing, Mozart wasn't a magician who could create beautiful music without effort; indeed his music was the result of hard work. Also, the movie implies that Salieri might have murdered Mozart overnight while his wife and child were away; another reviewer had noted that Mozart died in the evening so that scenario is pure fiction. Salieri might have hated Mozart, but it is unlikely he had the opportunity or willingness to resort to murder.
This could have been a better movie if they tried to be more realistic.