Film Review №4

Raise Your Voice (2004)

Directed by Sean McNamara

Produced by Sean McNamara, David Brookwell, Toby Emmerich, A.J. Dix, Sara Risher, William Shively Screenplay by Sam Schreiber

Story by Mitch Rotter

Starring: Hilary Duff, Oliver James, Jason Ritter, Dana Davis, Kat Dennings, Rita Wilson, David Keith, Rebecca De Mornay, John Corbett

Music by Aaron Zigman, Machine Head

Cinematography: John R. Leonetti

Editing by Jeff Canavan

Studio: Brookwell McNamara Entertainment, FilmEngine

Distributed by New Line Cinema

Release date: October 8, 2004

Running time: 103 minutes

Country: United States

Language: English, French Budget $15 million

Box office: $14,867,514

Plot

A teenage girl, Terri, has a passion for music. School's out and she wants to spend the summer at a performing arts academy in L.A. She is encouraged by her mother and brother but has a hard time convincing her father, who is a little rough around the edges. Things go bad when she sneaks her brother, Paul, out to a concert and they both end up in a car crash. Terri survives but Paul was less fortunate and he died. Terri was devastated and she decides to quit music, but with a little encouragement and a sly plan from her family (except her father) she decides to go ahead to L.A. Noone is nice to her at the academy at first but gradually they got better and she made some friends; Kiwi, Denise and Jay whom she starts dating after awhile. She also meets some bullies; Robin and her friends. Throughout her time there, she learns that her brother is the reason she got accepted in the first place. She gets closer to Jay, while continuing to lie to her dad. Haunted by her brothers death, her musical talents intensify.

Hilary Duff stars as Terri Fletcher, a 16-year-old anxious to explore her musical talent at a performing arts academy in L.A. for the summer. After a little persuasion, she makes it there, and the movie is more or less about her exploits therein.
              The film starts well; the Three Days Grace concert helps set the musical tone for the movie. That was an unexpected surprise, although I suppose I'm partially biased since I like the band.
              A beautiful performance by Hilary Duff. I am more and more impressed with her with every movie I see her in. She brought me to tears twice in the first twenty minutes of the movie. I was impressed by the colorful array of teens at the school, even if they were chosen primarily to make it believable that they're in L.A. I appreciated that none of the teens were written to fulfill any particular stereotype and all seemed like real people, for stereotypes are a sore spot for me, as my teen years were not all that long ago.
               I loved the scenes with Denise playing the violin; again, very refreshing and stylistic. John Corbett turns in a innovative performance as a progressive music teacher, breathing a little more life into the film.
               The direction really helps to further the movie along, as it is pretty anti-climatic. The 'unwanted kiss' was a bit predictable, however an element of predictability is generally assumed in movies of this persuasion. The make-out scene was completely unnecessary and should've been cut.
                And it should be noted that the film is more or less like a Crossroads (2000) for a slightly younger generation, but despite that, it still maintains its own life.
                 I absolutely love the last song in the film—that was the perfect song for the theme of the movie. And I don't care what anyone says, Hilary Duff is a true performer, even if she isn't that great of a singer. She just always has this glow about her, and no matter how I feel, seeing her perform always makes me smile, and that's something to be commended.

As for critics’ opinion, almost all of them say something very similar. Their verdict can be expressed in such review “It's particularly good at capturing that time of life when you simultaneously believe everything is possible and that each tiny misstep is the end of the world”.
                  In conclusion I’d like to say that it is a very enjoyable musical film despite its predictability. Recommended to anyone with kids, who's young at heart, who likes Hilary Duff, or just needs a good smile, but be forewarned—you might get a little teary-eyed before that smile reaches your lips.