I found a VHS copy of this short film for sale online years ago for $1 and, being a huge fan of this exquisite story, I took the plunge. While I admire the attempt to create a film of "The Music School," love this erudite (and not always easy to locate) PBS series of literary films, and was happy to see the always interesting John Korty as director, the end product here is a rather stilted, perfunctory production. Still, it's worth a look for anyone who's had the good fortune to read (or reread) Updike's original work despite this short film not adding anything meaningful to add to the brilliant narrative. In fact, it's a rather desultory attempt at bringing what may be an unfilmable work to the screen. And that's its strength: it's an earnest work that admirably tries to extend a key text to a wider audience. Recommended for anyone who enjoys literary filmmaking (even when it doesn't succeed) or the importance of existential writing and its meaningful approach to examining the challenges of living in an often bewildering, mechanized world.
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