Songcatcher

You can really tell I’m really out of the loop when it comes to recent movies because we finally rented Songcatcher this weekend. Superficially, it’s about the struggles of a musicologist who comes across the folk music of the Appalachians and her quest to ‘gather’ this material before the pressure of the modern world destroys the music’s purity. The writer-director adds too many subplots and details, maybe it’s about getting more bang for your buck, but all that stuff was certainly distracting. The best subplot, however, is about the panther-cat, as told by Vinie, the ornery grandma of the boozing romantic lead.

The heart of the movie revolved around the folk music: the singing, the music, and the unnamed individuals hired to sing their hearts out in the movie. Of note, even my husband, who unabashedly prefers the testosterone amped shoot em up car crashing type of action movies (it was my turn to pick, gosh darnit), enjoyed this film. Although it’s not the perfect movie, it’s certainly worth an evening of your time.

Update: Link to Pat Carroll on how she got her part in Songcatcher