Amy (1998)

Great Film overall

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The characters are believable and likable the story is heartwarming and well told. As usual Rachel Griffith is just wonderful in her performance as the cold, emotionally distraught mother, Tanya. Rachel seems to be able to say so much about her character using just her eyes.Ben Mendelssohn is sweet and sexy as the neighbor Robert and Alana De Roma is just perfect as the little song tress, Amy. These three actors really hold the plot together along with the diverse Kerry Armstrong as neighbour, Sarah.Some of the flash backs in this film seem quiet out of place. The shots of the deceased rock star Will, seem almost obsolete in their repetitiveness. Some of the more quirky and unbelievable scenes also seem to be quite out of place in this drama plot. There's nothing wrong with using comedy in a drama, but it's important not to border on the absurd.However, Amy is worth watching if only for the characters and to show, as cheesy as it might sound, that peoples kindness can help you get through just about anything.

While this movie starts out pretty well. However, it soon degenerates into utter rubbish. It begins well enough. Interesting characters, good cast and what looks to be a good story, but soon whatever promise was there to begin with is drowned in 80 minutes of happy ending and increasingly horrible singing. In the end, I wish I was the one being deaf.I rated it 2/10. Gigli is worse - but not much!

Alana De Roma is a very talented, young actress. In her role as Amy she seems very real. The role is perfect for her. Many other commentators of this film is giving a plot summary. I`m not going to do that. I just want to give you the opportunity to go to the theater and see a great movie. The first time I saw this movie, was also the first time I heard applaud in the theater. In the beginning it seems like a heavy music video, but after a while the focus gets on Amy. The young girl who have lost her father. The music in this film is also great. It gets you into the right mood. Together with a truthful scenery of Melbourne, it lifts this film up like an elevator. The film gives you an opportunity to smile, and in the next moment, cry. I give top scores to Alana De Roma (Amy), Tanya Rammus (Rachel), Ben Mendelsohn (Robert) and the director: Nadia Tass. This is a film for real film lovers, for teachers, and others who want to see the best Australian movie ever.

I saw this movie at the Heartland Film Festival last year here in Indy, and I though it was probably one of the best movies I saw last year. Even if it wasn't, it was certainly the most original and different I've seen in quite a long time.It is the story of Amy a young girl who has been mysteriously deaf-mute for several years, for no medical reason. She lives with her protective mother, played by Rachel Griffiths, who tries, with no avail, to understand her daughter's condition.Most of the plot involves their move to small alley in a downtown Australian town, which is populated with all sorts of different, funny characters. The film goes along with just the right pacing---it doesn't rush or lag, just goes along, much like its characters, who aren't entirely sure of where their lives are going, but go on anyways.This film blends tragedy, comedy, drama, and fantasy without every confining itself to one genre. It creates its own world, using nothing but a subtle script and incredible acting.One more comment: I thought that the scene involving the little girl and the little guy, and his drumset had to be one of the cutest scenes I've seen in over a decade.