The Song movie review & film summary (2014)
I am sure filmmaker Richard Ramsey, making his directing feature debut, is going for a theme more profound than that–putting family first and not selling out on your principles and that sort of thing. But his film doesn’t quite earn that type of deeper consideration, despite its belief in a higher power.
In fact, “The Song” can often be quite the grand ol’ soap opry, as unsurprising as a Tweet update that a celebrity is entering rehab. But the Mumford & Sons-style neo-folk tunes are sort of catchy, the message is more earnest than outright preachy, the scenery autumnally appropriate–much of the filming was done in rural Kentucky–and the main actors are easy enough on the eyes that you can sometimes overlook their vapid emotional outbursts.
Still, no one would blame you if you skipped this cinematic sermon and instead caught up with the new season of TV’s “Nashville,” whose racy backstage antics regularly threaten to rival those found in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Inspired by The Song of Solomon, a celebration of romantic intimacy found in the Old Testament, the film opens with this scripture quote: “I have seen everything done under the sun. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after wind.” There is a prologue from the ‘80s that shows country icon David King (King David was Solomon’s father, don’t you know) being tempted by alcohol and his flirty backup singer. The result? A broken marriage, a second wife, a lot of guilt and a baby son named Jed, who will inherit his musical abilities while growing up in the shadow of his famous pop.
The adult Jed (strapping singer/guitarist Alan Powell of the Christian band Anthem Lights) is a gifted performer stuck playing in dive bars. But his luck–and life–changes after meeting the beauteous and devout Rose (Ali Faulkner, a flaxen-haired combo of Marcia Brady and Heather Graham whose resume includes a 'Twilight' movie). His feelings for the vineyard owner’s daughter motivate him to write a lovely ditty that not only wins him her hand but turns out to be his passage to riches and international acclaim. Soon they are saying their vows in a chapel that Jed is building on her daddy’s land to honor their commitment, and a baby boy arrives in short order.
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