Shame about the music

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2006)

The best part of this film adaptation is the opening sequence, which gives a context to the story that is vital to its sensibility, as well as a few visuals (watch for the broken picture of the father). The photography is splendid; I wish this story could be told without CGI, but it can't, and that ruins some of the photography. The score, however, is mawkish, prescriptive, and sentimental, and comes close to killing the joy of the story itself. And who had the bright idea to commission something from Ms. Morrisette for the final credits? Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, whoever it was. This mania for getting pop stars to write anthems for large budget films must stop. It's damaging to both fields of endeavour.