Moonlight Serenade
She'll sing her way into your heart.
Nate (Alec Newman, Dune) is a successful financial manager by day and a closet musician by night. One evening he hears a beautiful voice outside his apartment window accompanying his piano playing. The mysterious voice turns out to be the coat check girl, Chloe (Amy Adams, Julie & Julia), from the local jazz club. Chloe strikes a deal with Nate to perform with her at the club. Their chemistry is undeniable and with every song they play, the closer they become.
Member Reviews
What would you do if I sang out of tune...get hired for this film - every1sacritic
Wow...I am writing this before the movie is even over. Nothing like a musical where the principal characters can't sing and in this case can't act either. Amy Adams does not embody the essense of a jazz singer on any level. Her shower stall wouldn't hire her let alone a jazz club. No smouldering chanteuse her. Alec Newman had me knitting my brows right from the first notes and I knew it was going to be a bumpy ride.
It came across like the actors were given a couple of hours to learn the songs. Missed notes abound, the song stylings pedestrian, rounded out by emotionless, underwhelming deliveries. Embarrassing at best.
The casting for this film is inexplicable and I read it as strictly a no budget affair. Even the sets were skimpy, from the supposed opulent offices of the investment company where Nate works, of which we are only privy to the coffee room and Nates office cubby hole to the jazz club consisting of a coat check, a couple of tables and lots of shiny drapery. The plot was inconsequencial with mundane dialogue added to the mix just to keep things from getting too rarefied.
Even John Q public knows that you need real talent to make it in the world of jazz which leaves this film in dire need of a reality check.How not to make a film - lise
This is a keeper if you want to study how a film can fail on all levels.
Being a huge fan of jazz standards I was looking forward to seeing if Amy Adams could sing in this style. She cannot. I should have known; she's perfect at singing musicals which requires a pitch and enunciation that is directly opposite to jazz requirements. She was off on all levels: embarrassing phraseology, crystal clear enunciation, holding notes rather than coming to them or dropping them, pronouncing s's like pop tarts jumping out of the toaster, and the complete lack of soul. Many have criticized the male lead (Alec Newman) but I thought he was excellent compared to Adams.
The story itself could have worked but it didn't. Think Baker Boys with just one man. The simplicity of the story is not the issue (and in my opinion hardly ever is). In this case everything about the production was awkward. The script was mundane, the direction was obvious (you could almost hear the director saying "ok, hold the camera on him, and now Amy, you jump into the frame"--which she does, literally) and for the first time I was distracted by sets. While the scenes in the jazz club were ok, I think they were trying to make Alec Newman's apartment look like a rich man's home, but again, everything was very awkward. It looked like all the items in his apartment were rented from the local high school drama club. Lamps and candles and curtains that all looked out of place, not to mention cracks in walls and near door frames, and what seemed to be cheap parket flooring. I've nothing against low-budget films, in fact I seek them out, but the filmmakers tried to create a look that went beyond their budget and that's always a mistake.
Recommended to those who want to see how not to make a film.Only watch if you are curious about Amy's singing voice... - Blommie
What a strange little film! The cinematography smacks of a low budget soap opera, with lots of close ups, over bright lighting, camera shakes, non-horizontal angles, cheap sets and cramped spaces.
The story line is thin and not always believable. The film really is just about the music.
Member Reviews
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What would you do if I sang out of tune...get hired for this film - every1sacritic
Wow...I am writing this before the movie is even over. Nothing like a musical where the principal characters can't sing and in this case can't act either. Amy Adams does not embody the essense of a jazz singer on any level. Her shower stall wouldn't hire ...How not to make a film - lise
This is a keeper if you want to study how a film can fail on all levels.
Being a huge fan of jazz standards I was looking forward to seeing if Amy Adams could sing in this style. She cannot. I should have known; she's perfect at singing musicals which ...Only watch if you are curious about Amy's singing voice... - Blommie
What a strange little film! The cinematography smacks of a low budget soap opera, with lots of close ups, over bright lighting, camera shakes, non-horizontal angles, cheap sets and cramped spaces.
The story line is thin and not always believable. The ...