• Genres: Romance
• Plot Synopsis: Music From Another Room is a romantic comedy that follows the exploits of Danny (Jude Law), a young man who grew up believing he was destined to marry the girl he helped deliver as a five year old boy when his neighbor went into emergency labor. Twenty-five years later, Danny returns to his hometown and finds the irresistible Anna Swann (Gretchen Mol) but she finds it easy to resist him since she is already engaged to dreamboat Eric (Jon Tenney, a very practical match. In pursuit of Anna, Danny finds himself entangled with each of the eccentric Swanns including blind, sheltered Nina (Jennifer Tilly), cynical sister Karen (Martha Plimpton), big brother Bill (Jeremy Piven) and dramatic mother Grace (Brenda Blethyn) as he fights to prove that fate should never be messed with and passion should never be practical.
• Plot Keywords: Blind Girl | Independent Film
• Actors: Jude Law, Jennifer Tilly, Gretchen Mol, Martha Plimpton, Brenda Blethyn, See more
• Directors: Charlie Peters

Review

The first conclusion I am going to have to make about someone who tells me this movie isn’t a fabulously sweet romantic comedy is that he has a crass taste in humour, most likely of the “Spy who shagged me” genre.

Make no mistake, MFAR is light, nutty, often comical and occasionally even laugh-out-loud hilarious (as in the case of almost any scene with the sister Karen, played with wonderful timing by Plimpton). Maybe I enjoyed it a little more than I should have because I ran into it on cable and had absolutely no prior expectations whatsoever.

The predicament of the movie — a young man (Jude) meets a woman whose birth he had assisted in over a couple of decades ago. This woman (Gretchen) is the only “normal” character in her otherwise quirky family. The interplay between the family members and other supporting cast is quite amusing and original, and there is some dialogue dealing with love and death that is truly moving (e.g., pay attention to what the “Music from another room” stands for, absolutely lyrical).

This is not your average uber-classy fare with geewhiz cinematography or hard-hitting emotional melodrama. It is a simple story of relentless love and devotion, with a pace that you could wrap a cushy evening around. But one thing this confirms yet again is that, man, can Jude Law act! He is confident, credible and very honest with his role as a lovelorn delivery boy (one which he was apparently the first to proclaim in a UK entertainment channel interview that wasn’t “his type”).

Finally, a surprise that you’ll surely not be prepared for comes from Jennifer Tilly (you’ll remember her from innumerable side roles, e.g., Jim Carrey’s client in Liar Liar) who is simply wonderful in her potrayal of a blind woman’s whims and insecurities. Easily her best role to date!

If you aren’t expecting a When Harry Met Sally, I’d recommend this movie in a blink.