User Reviews

I managed to get through about a third of the movie before I felt that old, overwhelming glaze of "The Lifetime Movie" wash over the production, with its smiling, sunny "everything will be all right BECAUSE this is a Lifetime Movie" feeling completely ruining the flow.

Then the flow died. And I was left drudging through the remainder of the film, like a kid wading his boots through three feet of snow. Eventually, your legs just HURT.

Nicholas Galitzine is the only show-pony here, unfortunately with more potential than delivery (though I will confidently lay that at director Michael Damian's feet). Of all of the characters here, his was the most pulling.

I don't necessarily think that Keenan Kampa was phoning it in, but that's not a good thing in this kind of production. If your director insists on a soft delivery, it's best to get your punches in where you can, and Keenan never does. Her character does questionable things, has strange reactions to things that don't make sense to me (boy in question did not jump at your offer, so… I guess that means you're not friends anymore?). Only the scene with Paul Freeman (he was Belloq in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK) was one of near-perfection, where he has an almost intimate moment with the perfection of her dance, and that literally is my favorite scene of the movie. It even had Nicholas peering in through the window to illustrate its breathtaking brilliance.

I did enjoy the performance scenes, except for the battling dance crews in the subway. That part seemed to detract from the overall story, as the main characters were deleted in order to show off the abilities of the supportive friends that would later help define the final act. I get the idea… You need to set them up to deliver the final blow… But I think the final blow would have been all the more powerful if it were done from a bunch of dancers who practiced regularly in an apartment and never showed it outside than a group who showed it and won in a subway street-fight. Losers becoming winners is ALWAYS more impressive than winners who keep on winning.

Lastly, Sonoya Mizuno (Keenan's room-mate) just had no impact on me whatsoever. She is part of the reason why the production sang of "Lifetime Movie" instead of "Hollywood film". From the smiling, automatic friendship (just because they're room-mates) to the forced artificial relationship problems (and forced fake-fight between her and Keenan), she brought nothing to the screen except sex appeal. And… I guess that's fine, on some level? But she was never defined any further than eye-candy. You could have had Keenan live alone and the movie would be exactly the same as it was.

I suppose I should mention Jane Seymour at some point, but she didn't do nearly enough to impress me as Paul Freeman did. If you're going to do a role because you're getting up there in years (and believe me I have NOTHING but sympathy for that), you should at least have that one scene in the movie that tells the audience who you are. When Paul and Keenan have that scene involving her impressive positioning, it felt like the teacher and the student, OUTSIDE of the story-line, a great actor handing down his knowledge to a younger, less experienced one. Jane never had a moment like that. And that is a shame.

Overall I did not enjoy this movie. I am a person who likes stakes, likes edge. This movie had none of it. Potential all around, and a few good scenes (the payoff at the end also worked for me), but overall just another Sunday on television when you're too tired to pay real attention to what you're watching, and won't remember much about it anyway a week from now.

My wife and I watched this at home on Netflix streaming. She is a ballet dancer on scholarship in NYC, he plays violin in the subway for handouts.

I didn't know who Keenan Kampa was before seeing this movie but afterwards I found out she not only has been dancing since very young, she has won many competitions and for a few years studied and excelled in ballet in Russia, a very difficult accomplishment for an American girl from Virginia. So she is primarily a dancer but very pretty and also an upcoming actress.

Here she is Ruby, not really sure of how good she is. One day in the subway as she heads home she encounters this young man playing violin for cash. It is clear that he is very accomplished but also angry. To add to his woes he has been giving cash to a man who says he is a lawyer and can get him a visa, but the lawyer's card is fake and the $5000 is gone.

The young man is Londoner Nicholas Galitzine as Johnnie. He comes around eventually and accepts Ruby's friendship, they perform together in a Strings and Dance competition.

Somewhat predictable story with many cliché' characters and situations but overall we enjoyed it, a nicely entertaining movie.

This feel-good, come-from-behind movie is refreshing and the two protagonists are attractive and appealing, while their antagonist is a jerk. If you presume the outcome will be positive the twists in the story are predictable but not shocking. The retrieval of the beloved violin at the very end evokes the memory of Johnnie's deceased father, about whom nothing is ever told. Since Galitzine is from a family of Russian aristocrats who fled to England after the Russian Revolution maybe the father could be famous, but who knows? The roommate Jasmine seems to be an afterthought, and why bother to have her involved with a druggie? Likewise the scam-lawyer immigration scam seems contrived, but it moves the story along.

It's a pity the film chose to perpetuate the '80s image of the New York City subway system, with graffiti-covered cars. New York MTA does not allow movies shot in the city to be depicted that way, and the subway scenes are patently not there. The illusion of New York is done pretty well, though, although the Inwood loft is not convincing because first of all those lofts do not exist in Inwood and second of all where they do exist the rents are beyond what an undocumented alien could afford. The Manhattan School of Music doubles pretty well as the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts. Shooting the music and dance scenes in Bucharest must have saved a bundle, but it should have been done with New York studio performers. Johnnie does appear actually to be playing the violin himself, without simulation.

I saw the trailer and it was of the genre i liked and so i thought, why not, let's give it a try. I knew going in that it would similar to all the dance movies that i have seen but boy oh boy i was disappointed. The lead male tries to play an angry guy but utterly fails. It is a big competition with 25 grand prize money and scholarship but only three teams enter it (sign me in the next one dude) :P Even in center stage turn it up we saw how big the competition was.... The room mate is very badly depicted. One minute she is continuously partying the next minute she is all redeemed after hearing that all we dancers do is dance, lol. I can write a better script than that guys. And the dance crew had no ambitions? It's like they were all sleeping and one day someone said you should enter this competition and they just accepted. I mean making a name for themselves shouldn't they be on the look out for these sort of events in the first place? And how does the lead actor even get the gig? I mean shouldn't it be university students only or such. Even step up had to show that the guy was spending his community service hours. And the crew did not go to the university either. The acting, the directing all of it sucks. You would do well to avoid this one. I assure you i am a fan of these dance movies and even i consider my time wasted by this one. Save the 96 minutes.

This was a surprisingly interesting movie with beautiful dancing and music playing, which (music playing) I have been solely missing in other such movies. It is the classic underdog story but with new and fresh moments. The violin was amazing and the movie's ballet-oriented dancing delightful and strong. Of course the boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love cliché was present but no major "tragedy" between the main leads was portrayed right before 'the decisive moment', and that was both refreshing and much appreciated. Additionally, there was no big drama around joining the competition and the crew did not fight.

The final dance was astonishing, so beautiful for both the eyes and the ears, I was at a loss of words!!!

This is a well worn genre and story line. There have been many other dance movies with the same set up. Unlike others, the main dance character played by Keenan Kampa is the real deal. Unlike Flashdance, in which the climactic dance scene actually too three different people to pull off (a male hip hop dancer, an Olympic gymnast and a dancer), Keenan is the real deal. That's what made the movie for me. The Brit is a heavy character played weakly, Keenan's delivery is a bit too soft and sweet and there is certainly no Black Swan drama. Nonetheless, I feel the artistry, I connected with the desire to be different in a world expecting compliance and the final competition scene is worth the wait. The music is great and the dancing wonderful. There is no doubt, this movie is playing to a main stream audience. It is careful to avoid anything too cruel, rude or violent. So what, I enjoyed to scenery, the dancing and the music. Be inspired even if it is predictable.

Thank goodness someone finally made a dance film that fits the bill as entertaining, artsy and family friendly. The two leads (Keenan Kampa and Nicholas Galitzine) are new comers to Hollywood but they do a wonderful job, have amazing chemistry and are certainly attractive to gaze at! I especially enjoyed all the twists and turns of the plot but the dance is what really shines in this film! There are numerous styles of dance from Hip Hop to Tango, Irish Dance and Ballet. It is rare that a movie can capture dance but the scenes are brilliantly edited and directed so that you feel emotionally connected. The original score is an integral part of this movie and it weaves it's way through the film in a seamless blend of classical and current music. The final dance scene will have you cheering and crying while you are on the edge of your seat! I was really surprised that even my husband flipped over this film. If you want to see a wonderful "feel good" movie that is appropriate for the entire family, you will be in for a treat with High Strung!

This is by far the best movie I watched this year, and I've watched a lot! The acting isn't really satisfying since they seem acting; the main actress and few of the sub-actors aren't really fluent (speaking of acting here).

Now,the plot is good, little bit predictable, but very good for a romance-drama-musical movie. At the beginning, the movie seemed familiar and I almost stopped watching it, but the main actor is just cute *-* and after around 30 minutes, some twists appeared, and it became really interesting to watch. The pop dance steps, the violin musics and the ballerina swings were all good, original and different since the main instrument is the violin.

I rated it by 9 stars because after the magnificent last performance, I wished they lost to change the routine of THE MAIN CHARACTERS ALWAYS WIN, but they didn't, and they won. Surprisingly, and as much as it was expected to see them win, I was so happy when they were announced as winners. It is what the end made me feel that made me rate it by 9 stars. You will enjoy watching it, if you're the type who likes fluffy cute stuff. PS: it is the material you would watch with your family, it has only few kissing scenes.