Not Much of a Movie But Nevertheless a Novel Experience

As much as I like Jude Law and Gretchen Mol, I can't deny that the two of them cannot save the 1998 romcom Music from Another Room from being one of the most dubious romantic comedies ever made. Then again, this is a movie that starts out with a younger version of the Jude Law character (Danny) literally helping his physician father deliver the infant which would grow up to be his future soulmate Anna Swan and then has him fall in love with her at first sight. That's right. The movie shows a young boy falling in love with an infant girl who has just been born. And it goes downhill from there.

To be fair, the movie is not all bad. There is a nice bit halfway through the picture where Danny starts reading passages from Anna Karenina to Anna's blind sister Nina (played by Jennifer Tilly) in order to ingratiate himself with Anna's family. His scheme never quite works but it did introduce me to the Kitty and Levin characters in Tolstoy's classic novel and thus exposed me to a side of the book I never would have experienced had I relied on conventional literary critics. Indeed, it was because of this movie that I finally broke down and borrowed Anna Karenina from the local library after putting off such a deed for years. And of course, I eventually ended up reading this novel and enjoying it very much.

Anyway, Tolstoy is a hard act to follow, even for a good movie. And Music from Another Room is far from good. However, it did provoke me into carrying out a long-delayed literary vow so it can't be all bad. I just wish it was better -- and more worthy of its literary references.