touching but slow mystery/drama; The film's complex storyline, which jumps back and forth between multiple timeframes, falls victim to the usual book-adaptation trap: There's just too much to condense into two hours to do the story justice
it's professionally made and it features some talented actors, but from the very first frames it's an empty box, a movie made in the style of other, more prestigious works that drifts along in their wake, never finding a life of its own
it's lucky Shore's original compositions here and the cuts from the classical repertoire, some performed with impressive skill by child actor Luke Doyle himself, are strong enough to give heft to an otherwise earnest, credulity-straining melodrama
"The Song of Names", though moving, is undone by politeness; In the end, the film is unable to bridge the gap between the emotions it elicits and the messages it imparts
by Tara McNamara [Common Sense Media ]
by Michael Joshua Rowin [Slant Magazine ]
