Forged: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi
Director: Craig Brewer
Ranking: ★★★.5
Tailored from a real-life story that when lived as a modest documentary, Tune Sung Blue finds writer-director Craig Brewer returning to acquainted terrain: underdogs chasing dignity by means of efficiency.
Set in opposition to the distinctly American world of tribute acts and county gala’s, the movie follows Mike and Claire Sardina (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson respectively), a blended-family couple in late-80s Milwaukee who stumble into native fame by forming a Neil Diamond tribute act referred to as Lightning and Thunder.
Mike, a Vietnam veteran navigating sobriety, and Claire, a hairdresser with a robust voice and a fragile interior life, discover objective and connection by means of efficiency. Their act catches on, opening doorways they by no means anticipated — together with sharing a stage with Pearl Jam — whilst private tragedies start to pile up.
The great
For Indian viewers unfamiliar with Neil Diamond’s cultural footprint, the movie neatly treats his music much less as pop historical past and extra as songs that supply reassurance, nostalgia and escape to the viewers.
The movie is held collectively nearly fully by its performances. Hugh brings stressed vitality and an aching vulnerability to Mike, taking part in him as a person determined to be taken critically with out ever fairly believing that he truly deserves it. Whether or not he’s rehearsing in personal or performing below blinding lights, Hugh makes the act of singing really feel like survival. Kate, in the meantime, delivers a quietly revelatory flip. Freed from movie-star gloss, her Claire feels grounded, conflicted and emotionally porous, with music functioning as each refuge and launch.
Craig’s path removes mockery from what might have simply change into kitsch. The movie doesn’t sneer at its characters’ ambitions; as an alternative, it leans into their loneliness, their should be seen, and the small miracles that come from being heard. The musical sequences are allowed to breathe, giving songs narrative weight reasonably than treating them as nostalgic checkpoints.
The dangerous
At instances, the movie struggles with restraint. Misfortune arrives in heavy waves, and the piling-on of tragedy often borders on extra. Subplots involving the youngsters are launched with care however not all the time explored with depth, whereas the movie’s closing stretch feels longer than essential, as if not sure the place to land emotionally. The tonal shift within the latter half, from buoyant to bruising, can also really feel jarring for viewers anticipating a lighter experience.
The decision
Tune Sung Blue is earnest to a fault, however its sincerity is finally its energy. This can be a movie that believes in efficiency as salvation and connection as survival. Anchored by deeply humane turns from Hugh and Kate, it could be old school in spirit, but it surely carries sufficient emotional fact to earn its place properly past nostalgia.