Music Within 2007

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: This offbeat biopic is driven by Ron Livingston's engaging performance as Richard Pimentel, a gifted public speaker who lost his hearing in the Vietnam war and then spearheaded the disability rights movement in the U.S. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Steven Sawalich's directorial debut, Music Within, works marginally well when it stays small. Unfortunately, the life story of disabled-rights activist Richard Pimentel begs for a larger-than-life treatment. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: It's everything it ought to be: right-minded, well-intentioned, compassionate. But it doesn't rise above made-for-cable public service announcement, either. Read more

Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times: [The filmmakers] make the common error of attempting to cover every seemingly significant moment in the man's life rather than focusing on the greatest conflicts. Read more

Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune: A well-intentioned biopic about disability crusader Richard Pimentel that starts strong but eventually collapses under its weighty sense of responsibility. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: There may be an interesting movie in all of this, but too much is filtered through the hero's voice-over narration, always a recipe for squashing the life out of a film. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: A fascinating story of compassion, grit and determination. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Music Within never establishes a consistent tone, going from achingly sincere to borderline farcical, often in the same scene. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: This is a nice little well-meaning idea for a movie, but even with three writers on the payroll, it never really catches fire. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: What bothers me is that Music Within takes an individual story, an inspiring one, yes, and then thinks that's all there is to be told. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: All inspiring stuff, but Music Within is strictly by the numbers, even down to the predictable mood-setting period soundtrack numbers Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: Pimentel's persistence and eventual triumph over prejudice and discrimination is a story worth telling, if only on a shoestring. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The real world needs more dogged folks willing to tilt at windmills. But movies often don't do their stories justice, and that has happened again here. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: Music Within convincingly delivers the message that disabilities are everyone's concern. Read more

Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice: Sheen, like the movie itself, is trying too hard to inspire when the story doesn't need the help. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Music Within, which tries to use a lighthearted tone and ironic narration to belie its deeper implications, never gives Livingston strong enough material to make more affecting use of his presence. Read more