Should you watch this if it’s free? Yes.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? If you don’t hate violinists.
Score: 3.1/5
Secret ending? No, but there are some scenes in the credits.
Running time: 97 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“High Strung” is a musical dance romance about struggling young violist, Johnnie, who falls in love with dance student Ruby. Together, they will navigate the treacherous world of music and dance and prove that they’re the best in their field. It stars Keenan Kampa (Ruby), Nicholas Galitzine (Johnnie), Sonoya Mizuno (Jazzy), Jane Seymour (Oksana), Richard Southgate (Kyle), Paul Freeman (Kramrovsky), Marcus Mitchell (Hayward), Maia Morgenstern (Markova), and Anabel Kutay (April). It is rated PG.
The amazing thing about “High Strung” is how they were able to find so many actors that bear more than a passing resemblance to famous stars. You’ve got Keenan Kampa (looks like Blake Lively), Marcus Mitchell (looks like Will Smith), and Richard Southgate (looks like David Tennant), and by the time Jane Seymour appears, you’re wondering if that’s her or if they found an incredible lookalike to play the role. But yes, it is Jane Seymour.
Highlights
Violinists like you’ve never seen them before
The producers clearly love violinists, because they’re portrayed as cool, suave dudes who can actually pull off angry violin playing while still sounding coherent. Johnnie (Nicholas Galitzine) is like no other violinist you’ve ever seen, being full of angst and brashness rather than cultured gentility. There’s even a violin-off in the film where, yes, Johnnie goes off against rival Kyle (Richard Southgate), complete with a bow (the implement used to generate music from the violin) duel!
Fun performances
It’s clear that everyone’s having great fun with the performances, because they take any flimsy excuse to erupt into a dance routine. The film doesn’t even try to give a logical justification for why a dance-off would occur in a subway. But it’s entertaining and energetic, and their enthusiasm is so infectious that you can’t help wanting to join in. These are performers who really love their craft.
Letdowns
Barely functional plot
The plot is serviceable, in that it gets you from scene to scene in a vaguely coherent manner. The problem is that all of the beats are mechanical — A happens to cause B, but there’s no real story in it. Problems may manifest, but they’re solved by the next scene. The story just feels perfunctory.
Awful dialogue
It’s like the script was cobbled together from a book of one-liners. Almost every sentence is a quip or some attempt to sound clever. The worst parts are during the romantic scenes, where the cheese is so thick that it makes your hair stand. Yes, love and music and dance are important, but they’re not epic wars upon which the fate of the universe will be decided.
Artificial acting
The cast feels like they’re going through the motions, when they’re not dancing or on the violin. Their chief function is to perform, and the dramatic elements are just an afterthought. It does fulfill the goal of the film, which is to provide musical performances on the big screen, but at the cost of any acting merit.
“High Strung” provides gleeful music and dance performances held together by a tenuous plot.
“High Strung” opens in cinemas 14 April, 2016 (Thursday).
I thoroughly enjoyed the dance, music, and characters. I could not disagree more with the above review. The lack of green card and the effects of the loss of the violin are realistic.
Why do you say the lack of green card is realistic?
But who is really playing the instruments…..credits please.