The title Music Within is a reference to a quote from 19th century poet
Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said, “Most people go to their graves with
their music still inside them.” In other words, find out what it is you
have to contribute to the world, your inner music, and do it while you
have the time.
It’s a lesson Richard Pimentel took to heart, as he turned personal tragedy into a lifelong commitment to the plight of the disabled, eventually aiding in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. His story is the subject of Steven Sawalich’s directorial debut, a flawed but mainly satisfying film with Ron Livingston in the lead role.
As a teen Pimentel is discovered to be a gifted public speaker, but when he plies his craft for noted speech professor Dr. Ben Padrow (Hector Elizondo) in the hopes of winning a college scholarship he’s told he should come back when he’s lived a little and has something meaningful to say. He enlists in the Vietnam War, where a sudden attack leaves him severely hearing impaired.
Pimentel believes that as a war veteran he’ll have boundless opportunities for work and education when he returns home but in his experience the opposite is true. Told his disability makes him ineducable and unemployable, he finds his “inner music:” to change popular misconceptions about the disabled and ensure people like him are afforded equal rights.
Along the way he meets Art Honeyman (Michael Sheen, in an astonishing performance), a brilliant man whose cerebral palsy prevents him from being understood by most people. Though he’s deaf and can’t yet read lips, Pimentel somehow understands him and the two become friends. Their relationship is the heart of the film and Honeyman’s off-colour jokes help bring it to life.
Livingston in a scene from Music Within
Too much time is spent on other aspects of Pimentel’s life, including his troubled childhood with a schizophrenic mother (Rebecca De Mornay) and a failed romantic relationship, and not enough is spent on his important work to change the way society treats the disabled – from accessibility issues to ignorance.
There’s also a heavy-handedness to the story at times, notably in scenes where society fails Honeyman and Pimentel. Elsewhere it’s overly sentimental, as Pimentel and his girlfriend Christine (Melissa George) struggle to make things work as his work on disability awareness increasingly takes him away from home.
Livingston is well cast as tireless crusader Pimentel, and George does a good job as the girlfriend, but Sheen blows them all away as Honeyman. Known mainly for his brilliant portrayal as Tony Blair in The Queen, Sheen is plain perfect as the crude but good-hearted man who helps Pimentel find his voice. When Music Within finally does sing, it’s because of him.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
Music Within (*** out of 5)
Rated: R
Starring: Ron Livingston, Michael Sheen, Melissa George
Directed by: Steven Sawalich
Written by: Bret McKinney, Mark Andrew Olsen, Kelly Kennemer
Related links: Official site, IMDB page, Richard Pimentel's official site
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