Music Within
 Theatrical release poster | ||
| Starring |
| |
| Directed by | Steven Sawalich | |
| Produced by | Brett Donowho Bruce Wayne Gillies Oli Laperal Jr. Steven Sawalich | |
| Written by | Bret McKinney Mark Andrew Olsen Kelly Kennemer | |
| Editing by | Timothy Alverson | |
| Studio | Articulus Entertainment Quorum Entertainment | |
| Music by | James T. Sale | |
| Cinematography | Irek Hartowicz | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
| Released | 10} 26, 2007 | |
| Runtime | 93 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| language | English | |
| Gross | $153,205 | |
Music Within is a 2007 American biographical period drama film directed by Steven Sawalich and starring Ron Livingston, Melissa George, Michael Sheen, Rebecca De Mornay, and Marion Ross. It follows the life of Richard Pimentel (Livingston), a respected public speaker whose hearing disability attained in the Vietnam War drove him to become an activist for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sheen portrays Arthur Honeyman, while George portrays Pimentel's girlfriend.
Filmed on location in Portland, Oregon in 2006, Music Within screened at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival in February 2007, where it won the award for Best Narrative Feature Film. The film was acquired for distribution by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who gave it a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 26, 2007.
Plot
In 1947 Portland, Oregon, infant Richard Pimentel was given up for adoption by his paranoid schizophrenic mother. She later reclaims her son from an orphanage, but his childhood with her as a single mother is turbulent, and he is largely cared for by his maternal grandmother and Chinese-American father, Dell Fong. When Dell dies in an accident at the market he owns, Richard is left in the sole care of his mother, who is institutionalized shortly after.
As an adolescent, Richard realizes that he has a gift for public speaking. Upon graduating high school in 1969, he visited Portland State University as a prospective student. Richard catches the attention of Dr. Ben Padrow, a football coach and head of the university's speech department, and recites a speech for him. Padrow harshly tells Richard that he needs to "live a full life" in order to gain perspective and hone his natural speaking skills. This inspires Richard to join the military, and he serves as a soldier on the battlefield in the Vietnam War. A close-proximity bombing causes Richard to lose the majority of his hearing, and he is left with permanent tinnitus.
Richard returns to Portland, where he enrolls at the university. There, he befriends Mike Stolz, a mercurial alcoholic, and Art Honeyman, a high-IQ writer living with cerebral palsy. Richard and Art become close friends quickly. At a roller skating rink, Richard gets into a confrontation with Nikos, the boyfriend of a fellow university student, Christine, when Richard—using his ability to read lips—observes him insulting Art from a distance. Later, Richard sees Christine on the university campus and responds to her rideshare advertisement for a trip to Seattle to attend a Jefferson Airplane concert. Richard spends the night at Christine's house, and the two have sex. He is shocked upon finding that Christine is an open relationship with Nikos but agrees to continue dating her.
Upon graduating from university, Richard begins a successful career working for an insurance agency. On Art's birthday, Richard takes him out to dinner, but the two are refused service by a waitress and manager for fear that Art is disturbing other customers. When they protest, Richard and Art are arrested and booked on the grounds of violating an "ugly law," an ordinance targeting the poor and disabled from appearing in public spaces. The incident inspires Richard to quit his insurance job and dedicate his time to nonprofit work, helping to place veterans and other people with disabilities in jobs.
In 1978, Richard is fitted with hearing aids for the first time, though they did not provide adequate hearing ability. With Dr. Padrow's help, Richard is introduced to Bill Austin, the founder of Starkey Hearing Technologies, who produces state-of-the-art hearing aids. Meanwhile, Richard, collaborating with Art, begins writing a treatise on the subject of disabled persons. Through the 1980s, Richard's career took off as he became a keynote speaker for the U.S. Government, giving speeches to government agencies and sectors on training and protocols for people with disabilities; he also devises a training program to help educate the public on HIV/AIDS. However, Richard's high-profile career begins to negatively impact his relationship with Christine. When Richard cancels plans with Christine to attend a speaking engagement, Christine decides to end their relationship. Richard is further devastated when Mike commits suicide and his mother dies in a psychiatric hospital.
Richard reconnects with Christine, now engaged to another man, and the two maintain an amicable friendship. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into congress, and Richard's efforts were recognized. Shortly after, Richard and Art celebrate Art's birthday at the diner where they were once refused service.
See also [ Movies with Impact ]
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Music_Within ]
External links
- Review Music Within at the Internet Movie Database
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