Streep in perfect tune in `Music’

In Theaters MUSIC OF THE HEART. Directed by Wes Craven. Written by Pamela Gray. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated PG.

As hard as it may be to imagine Meryl Streep accepting a role that Madonna turned down, that’s precisely what the actress did to star in “Music of the Heart,” a film that pairs Streep with director Wes Craven who, until now, has exclusively directed horror films.

But this team works, which is no surprise when one considers the script: “Music of the Heart” is the true story of Roberta Guaspari, a tough, inner-city music teacher who is fighting the demons of an East Harlem grade school while also fighting for her two sons, for classical music and for herself. The role is a natural for Streep, who knows a few things about portraying tough women, and for Craven, who’s no slouch when it comes to tackling demons — even those wearing the tweed suits of academia.

The film, written by Pamela Gray, does what her “A Walk on the Moon” did so well: It avoids sentimentality in a story that easily could have courted it. But it also fails where “Moon” failed — it’s too pat and predictable, and it features dialogue that too often goes for the cliche.

Still, Streep is always worth watching, a bulldozer who ignites Guaspari with a hard-hitting frankness and humanity that lifts the film beautifully, especially when she comes under attack for her unconventional ideas about teaching.

With Angela Bassett, Aidan Quinn, Cloris Leachman, Jane Leeves and Gloria Estefan in supporting roles, “Music of the Heart” is no “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” It’s not meant to be. That film played to the heartstrings — this film plays straight to the pavement. Grade: B

On video A WALK ON THE MOON. Directed by Tony Goldwyn. Written by Pamela Gray. Running time: 106 minutes. Rated R.

The summer of 1969 is brought to steamy, vivid life in Tony Goldwyn’s “A Walk on the Moon,” a solid film about sexual awakening during a time when our country was caught in the throes of its own awakening: The Vietnam War was raging, flower power had taken root at Woodstock, the establishment was out, and a breathtaking mission to the moon was under way.

The film, which is wrapped around an intoxicating soundtrack that includes Jefferson Airplane, Cher, The Grateful Dead and Dusty Springfield, follows a family in crisis. Diane Lane is Pearl Kantrowitz, a faithful wife and mother who got married too young at 17 and feels as if the world is passing her by — that is, of course, until she meets the Blouse Man (Viggo Mortenson), a smooth, charming hippie who removes Pearl’s blouse — and her sexual inhibitions.

With Anna Paquin as Pearl’s hormonal teen-age daughter and Liev Schreiber as Pearl’s devoted husband, “A Walk on the Moon” sometimes loses itself in its purply prose, but it shines when it considers the real ramifications of Pearl’s choices, and when juxtaposing Pearl’s sexual awakening with that of her daughter’s. Grade: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear each Monday and Thursday in the NEWS, each Tuesday and Thursday on WLBZ’s “News Center 5:30 Today” and “News Center Tonight,” and each Saturday and Sunday on WCSH-TV’s statewide “Morning Report.”