cricketbat Music Within couldn't hold my attention. It features powerful performances by both Michael Sheen and Ron Livingston, but the inspiring true story loses its power as the film wanders around and drags on. It's a shame because this movie had the potential to be great.

Seth_Rogue_One I cannot express how great of a performance Michael Sheen as art was in this film.I actually thought he was a genuine person with celebral palsy when I watched it and it wasn't until I went to IMDb that I realised that he was not and I uttered 'Holy crap! that's Michael Sheen!' I kid you not, he really was that believable.He is also the very best part about the movie, vulgar and hilarious but still charming.But the lead is of course Ron Livingston and not Michael Sheen, and whenever Art isn't around it simply is not at all as interesting or entertaining.What feels like a terribly forced romance subplot with Melissa George (whom I usually like) taking up too much of the running time with unnecessary conflicts and in the end just feels pointless and other stuff which I can't go into details without spoiling stuff.Yul Vasquez as Mike was also pretty good but a missed opportunity not to develop his character further.In the end it was still watchable but there was potential for so much more.

Gavin Patterson A movie mirror on how to structure writing. All the fundamentals of character creation, short and defining moments, give them a strength and a weakness; this movie ticked all the boxes. Its all played out in this film, if you want the cookie cutter guide on how to write a book or a screenplay, get this movie. Joseph Campbell commends you.Why it lost 1 mark. It has three writers and its obviously Hollywood formula. Regardless of how amazing the content, the dialogue and characters were clichéd and it was too well written. I would have loved for it to have had a sharper edge, more creativity please. The writer used well known humor in all the exchanges, I wanted to yell, "Thanks dad!" throughout. Funny and charming but overplayed.

pc95 A good movie, "Music Within", has some truly touching moments, and a compelling story to go along. Only the overuse of cut-away music became totally gratuitous. Ron Livingston seems like a good fit as the lead in this movie and has the right mix of humor, thoughtfulness, and wit. The scenes with Livingston as Richard and Michael Sheen as Art light up the movie. Together they confront a United States and Northwest of decades ago which hadn't quite figured out acceptance and tolerance. The first several scenes with them both becoming friends are spot-on. I also liked the way Richard confronts his own major problems through helping others. Generally the director and cast really made a good movie here while tackling a difficult subject of people's disabilities and confronting the social contexts they create.