Directed by Tim Robbins, this film is based on a true story and takes its title from a 1936 Marc Blitzstein musical. It stars Susan Sarandon, Hank Azaria, Angus MacFadyen, John and Joan Cusack. Bill Murray does a wonderful job as ventriloquist Timmy Crickshaw, contributing greatly to the poignancy of the character.

At the center of the story is the artist and patron clash in 1936 New York. The pacing is slow. Azaria is a brooding widower. He writes '...Cradle,' a musical about a steel strike. In it he exposes such themes as class, labor and how the press caters to the rich and powerful.

Tim Robbins film illustrates what happens when 'Cradle Will Rock' debuts udner the auspices of FDR''s New Deal Federal Theatre Project. In a subplot, Cusack, who plays Nelson Rockefeller, hires Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to paint a mural in the lobby of the new Rockefeller Center.

The opening of 'Cradle...' is boycotted in an attempt to shut down the Federal Theatre Project for alleged communist favoring. The cast and crew manage to stage the performance, nevertheless. There are other subplots peppered throughout the film for dramatic effect and the comprehensive result is an immense, ambitious film about art and power.

It's rousing, but doesn't quite hit the mark.