Naive, melodramatic yet wooden. A glorious mess.

Rating: 2/10 (18 June 2010)

Someone told me that the main character in this film reminded them of me at 13 years old (an insult to this film in the first place, seeing as this character is supposed to be that age I am now) so I watched it out of interest.
I was amused beyond belief.
I loathed the depiction of teenagers. In the weak scene with Blaize and her boyfriend leaving her, I almost laughed, with the ridiculous acting. She looked like she simply had no idea what she was doing so she was simply reading her lines (example, actually saying "Um" like it was written, rather than a pause and stutter) and it really trivialised the pain some teenagers go through in that type of abusive relationship. The plot line with Blaize and Marcus could have been very interesting, but the actors were pathetic, I don't even think this was a case of bad writing.
Another scene that annoyed/amused me was the "revelation scene" when Will was saying about his past, and why he had all those girls etc. his pain, blah, blah, blah. It could have been done so well, but he went for the obvious, and Ronnie pouted, losing all intensity and connection, for me.
I actually found Will's character quite likable, and the one scene that made me smile for the right reasons was when they were singing "she will be loved" even though it was ruined by another "Oh my God, Ronnie, there are so many things you are good at." Being a pianist, and seeing how closely it is connected to the soul, I could understand why Ronnie wouldn't want to play after the divorce, but when she played again the relief and transformation was superficial. At the start, when she wouldn't play, she seemed more moody, I would suggest if she was as special as she thought she was, she would have a depression, not teenage angst. So maybe this is mockery of teenagers, oh, God I hope so. The feeling when she played again should have been immense, like it had never changed inside, not just her ability, and that should have been glorious, but no. She was just cute, and happy, so she kissed her boyfriend a little more and stopped being such a moody cow to her family. That should have been the surface, but apparently it was the depth. The hospital scene was painful to watch, because of the horrible action. Though the scene between Will and the little brother was quite touching.
When Will saw Ronnie all glammed up at the wedding, there were even strings and tinkly sounds, which is an example of the glorious clichés used in this film.
The "Don't touch me" scene could have been incredible, again, but it was weak. There wans't even a quiet power.
And the turtles. Ridiculous.
The one thing I liked about this film was in fact the music. The way they handled musicianship was horrible, but the music was very nicely used.
Maybe I did like that when she started to play again, she showed emotions, it shows how music taps into you true self and soul, but I'm not sure that was the intention of this film.
"At least you have the courage to feel" was a ridiculous thing to sayt o a teenager. More like "Stop whoring out your emotions to make a pretty face and get a bit of attention." her playing at the funeral was predictable, but quite lovely, another little saving grace.
I suppose true musicianship is something a non-musician will ever understand, and this film does not help to elaborate upon it, so they explore the shallow levels of family and stupid romances.