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AMY Send This Review to a Friend
Classify "Amy," a film from Australia, in the heartwarming category, and your overall reaction may depend on how easily your heart is warmed. Eight-year-old Amy, played by talented youngster Alana De Roma, retreats into silence after witnessing the freak electrocution of her rock star father on stage at an outdoor concert held during a stormy night. Tanya, her mother, portrayed combatively by Rachel Griffiths, has also been shaken by the event and has her own demons. But she is concentrating on caring for Amy, and although the experts have been confounded, Tanya still hopes for a breakthrough.
Bullying social workers would like to take Amy away and put her in an institution, but Tanya defies and eludes them. Mother and daughter take up residence in a poor neighborhood inhabited by a feuding couple, a crotchety woman and, among others, Robert, a hang-about musician (Ben Mendelsohn). Robert takes an interest in Amy and they develop the special relationship nobody else can achieve. He discovers that although she won't talk she can sing. That becomes the key to reaching Amy, as well as a bit of a pitch for appreciating the role music can have in therapy.
Before the ultimate resolution with a helping of five and dime psychology, screenwriter-producer David Parker and director-producer Nadia Tass go to town with melodramatic plot ploys. It is amusing to see Amy, in the process of breaking out of her shell, singing "Stand by Your Man" as she fends for herself when lost on a street. On the other hand, the breakdown and breakthrough moment comes across as a shameless tug at the heartstrings.
It's easy to see why the film has been popular in Australia and various other venues. But artistically, it is an odd mixture that works at some moments but seems too contrived at others. A World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation release.
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