Surrounded by wealth and living with abundant resources in Manhattan, 12-year-old cello prodigy Reggie, lives a solitary life lacking only frequently absent parents and friends. Estranged from family, having slacker boyfriend troubles, and fired from her waitressing job, sometimes musician 23-year-old Eleanor needs a new place to live and a new job.
Writer/Director: Frank Whaley
Stars: Julian Shatkin, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104818/
Watched online, ok print.
No songs in the Soundtracks, but at least 1 classical piece for string quartet (& piano) was played frequently by the prodigy and his group; the title of the piece is the title of the film.
The kid JS is not only a cello prodigy. He's 12, just finished taking physics and calculus in H.S. We see him mesmerize his English teacher reading a poem (his own?) aloud in class, and he cooks too. He is generous without being extravagant, very calm, considerate of others, and charming.
DM is the mother, but she's just around long enough to demonstrate her non-existent mothering skills (she wants him to eat, and to ride back and forth to school with the chauffeur). When the nanny gets deported, she hastily hires LM, and leaves the country, but JS & LM are at home with the cook/maid and the chauffeur.
LM was available for the gig b/c her bf finally did her wrong once too often, and then made a scene at her work, so she was both homeless and jobless. This temporary nanny job was a good fit.
The beauty of the film is the growth of a relationship between JS & LM. The poster is absurd, because it makes the bf look like the central character, which he is not. He should have been absent, or in a corner in miniature.
Writer/director FW is a familiar actor; he was the cripple in Swing Kids ('93) among 50 other films. This is his 4th writer/director credit, with another in pre-production.
Rated 6.9 (3,948)
indie, dir. Whaley; 7+
