Rating: 
Summary: almost good
Review: The acting in this movie is top notch--especially the performance from Janet McTeer. However, the directing and writing has a lot to be desired. The problem I had with the directing was that it 1) was too slow, and 2) consisted of too many close-up shots. The problem I had with the writing was that it contained TOO many themes: 1) Janet McTeer "catching" songs, 2) the lesbian relationship, 3) Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn's relationship, 4) Reese having an affair with another woman, 5) real estate man trying to buy out the homes in the mountain, 6) Reese's wife becoming an established painter, and 7) servant girl and boy's relationship problems. You see, too many themes. I definitely would've gotten rid of the lesbian relationship, and Reese having an affair with another woman--they didn't add anything to the story. Finally, I was not impressed by the ending. To me, it seemed too abrupt.
Rating:
Summary: Advancing an Agenda
Review: Why do otherwise wonderful movies feel a need to advance an agenda? The time spent on the homosexual scenes combined with the retribution and the church condemnation scene add up to an intentional focus on the minority actions of our society -- homosexuals and bigotted Christians, both of which do exist, but neither of which represent anything close to the norm. This movie depicts both with a definite slant toward homosexuality and against Chritianity.Why?
Rating: 
Summary: Did the producers do their homework?
Review: I am currently sitting in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina and frustrated that this film is not showing anywhere within a 100-mile radius. I am very much looking forward to hearing the music, particularly, since many of my favorite female performers are featured in it. However, I am disturbed by something I have read in many reviews of "Songcatcher," which most non-locals would undoubtedly consider a minor point. "Coal mining?" Coal has not, is not, and will not be mined in the mountains of North Carolina, a geographic fact. Copper mining, yes. Mica mining, yes. Gem mining, yes, but not coal. Coal mining certainly occurred in nearby SW Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and some parts of East Tennessee, but - fortunately - not North Carolina, which is why the older and taller mountains of NC retained their pristine beauty longer until discovered by too many developers and flatlanders who want a cooler place to spend their summers. (My rating is simply an Internet requirement. I can't really rate the film since I haven't yet seen it.)
Rating: 
Summary: one of the best!
Review: wonderful performances, scenery, music; the only detracting factor in this movie was that some of the social/political issues were rather heavy-handed, as if someone had said, "we need more drama and conflict here." i would have given it 4 1/2 stars if it were possible, but it is too good to rate only four!
Rating:
Summary: The Music Lifts You Up
Review: The Songcatcher is beautiful, cinematically and musically. A feast for passionate lovers of old folk music. A seemingly straight-forward story of a doctor of music discovering the generations-old songs of mountain people while visiting her sister, this film explores the power of song and music, life in a small insular community, political and economic pressures facing small rural communities in the early part of the 20th century and last but not least: romantic and lusty love. Cameo appearances by some fabulous veteran songsters, this film made me remember how much I love these old ballads from England, Ireland and Scotland, with an early American spin on them.
Rating:
Summary: An American portrait in music
Review: I can't imagine a better way to spend two hours than to make this historical visit to Appalachia and meet these amazing people who thrive on simplicity. This movie weaves history, music and human nature into a tapestry of human experience that lifts your spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Story too complicated -- didn't match the simple music
Review: Overall, I didn't like this movie. I appreciated the music and the photography, and the acting was fine, but the screenplay should have been written more simply. The story should have been about the unexpected music and the unexpected change in the heroine's life, instead of being so much concerned with homosexuality, evil corporate industrialists, and adultry. The music in the film can touch people in a universal way, but the film loses something when it starts trying to cover so many non-universal things. The movie had some nice moments -- especially the lovely music and the sad young love story -- but it failed to suspend my disbelief because it was trying to do so much. Overall, seeing this movie left me feeling kind of queasy. It took me places I didn't really want to go at the time, which detracted from the lovely feelings which the music and main storyline could have left me with.
Rating:
Summary: Music is not incidental to this film
Review: Would like to rate this four and one half stars. Some characterizations may have been underdeveloped, but the sum equals more than the parts. The music, the scenery, the sense of going back in time, the isolation of the mountain folk (one young girl is taken aback at seing a black man--she says with some truth "Well where would I see one!")--most of it rings true. I saw it in an independent theater where the showing was preceded by a live trio playing folk songs--what an introduction to the film! It's a film I would enjoy seeing again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but not quite ready for prime time.
Review: Songcatcher was a good movie, and I recommend seeing it if you're looking for something more in a movie than the great mass of adolescent-oriented movies that show every summer. That said, due to stereotypical overacting on the part of several actors, I was aware of the fact that they were acting in period dress, rather than believable characters. Because of this, the movie never quite suspended belief on my part, and I was always conscious of the fact that I was watching a movie, rather than absorbed in the story. Editing is something I rarely notice in a film, but in this case three or four scenes ended abruptly enough for me to sit up and take notice making it that much harder to be immersed into the world of the film, which is too bad, since it had a lot to offer. It wasn't all bad, though. Aidan Quinn does a great job as Tom Bledsoe, Pat Carroll is super as the old mountain woman Viney Butler and the songs are great, and make up for the film's flaws. Go see it, and leave your kids to see "Evolution" or some such dross.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely film
Review: I highly recommend this "gem" of a movie. Having lived in the south my entire life, I can truly appreciate what a wonderful film depiction this is of the southern life in some parts of the south. The scenery is gorgeous and the music is simply wonderful. If you want to see a film that doesn't rely on computer-generated graphics, this is a must see.
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