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August Rush
Posted: Nov 20, 2007 in Movies
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On it's surface, "August Rush" is a dear tale that extols the virtue of stick-to-itiveness and unqualified love while placing music on the highest of pedestals. These are such worthy themes that they make one wish it were better, but even sweet songs sour with poor execution.
The film's focus is on Evan (Freddie Highmore), an orphaned boy who doesn't believe his parents willfully abandoned him. Because every kid in his orphanage knows this, he's labeled an outcast and becomes the butt of cruel jokes.
Fortunately, Evan doesn't much care about bullies because his head is in the wind, the wheat fields and the innards of dripping plumbing. That's where he finds music.
Although Evan hasn't picked up so much as a tambourine, he's able to find rhythms in swishing grass and melodies in dripping water. And he is convinced that this talent will someday lead him to his parents.
So, Evan borrows a page from the Oliver Twist playbook, leaving his orphanage and landing in New York City, where he falls under the care of a Fagin-like shyster named Wizard (Robin Williams).
Meanwhile, director Kirsten Sheridan -- daughter of wonderful writer-director Jim Sheridan -- tells the story of Evan's parents. His mother, Lyla (Keri Russell), is a talented cellist with an oppressive parent. His father is a dashing rock musician named Louis (a freshly arrested Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who was charged with public drunkenness over the weekend in Ireland). They hooked up on one magical night but were separated the next day, neither knowing they had created a son.
So, "August Rush" is a three-pronged affair that attempts to invest the audience in each main character and persuade it to root for a reunion. At this basic level, the film is relatively dramatic and believable, but Sheridan isn't satisfied with realism.
Her vision is a modern-day fantasy where Evan plays guitar like a pro the first time he picks up the instrument. He's so remarkable, in fact, that within six months of his first music lesson, he's debuting a composition with the New York Philharmonic under the stage name August Rush. If only.
Of course, things like this are allowed in film, but they don't fit well in a picture that is otherwise realistic. They also call attention to and amplify the already over-saccharine nature of the screenplay.
Thankfully, Highmore, Russell and Meyers are charming performers who do as much as they can with the material. And Sheridan is terrific at placing viewers inside Evan's head, where they can understand his ability to find music in everyday sounds.
But good filmmaking requires execution on all fronts, and "August Rush" is hit and miss. You might say it's a symphony that starts out pleasing and fresh but quickly descends into dissonance and cliche.
In other words, the New York Philharmonic isn't touching this one.
Forrest Hartman / Reno Gazette-Journal
Here's the review I wrote when I saw this during Heartland Film Festival. It never got to run, so now it lives on at Indy.com. I give it 3.5 stars out of four.
The AP gave "August Rush" a horrible review, giving it one-half star out of four. I think I knew even back then I was going to be on the minority side on this one...
By CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
I have a feeling "August Rush" is going to be one of those movies that puts people on opposite sides of a fence. Like "The English Patient," you either get swept up or you don't.
For "August," it's suspension of disbelief that trips some up. They just don't buy that a kid who's never touched a guitar before could start banging away on one and, within seconds, be creating amazing, innovative music. Or belt out Sunday-ready hymns moments after sitting down at a church pipe organ. Or conduct the New York Philharmonic before hitting puberty.
I won't try to convince these folks that such things are within the realm of the possible (other than to point out there once was this guy named Mozart who was writing sonatas at an age when most of us had barely mastered potty training).
But music is really just a stand-in for magic in this movie, which exists more on the level of fairy tale than drama. Trying to impose rigid rules and real-world expectations on something so lyrical is like intentionally popping a child's balloon.
Freddie Highmore plays Evan, a lonely 11-year-old living at an orphanage who's determined to find his birth parents. He hears music in his head, Evan tells a sympathetic case worker (Terrence Howard), and he believes that if he can find a way to harness that gift, his folks will hear him and they'll be a family again.
What he doesn't know is that his parents aren't even together, having been torn apart by circumstance after a fleeting encounter. Lyla (Keri Russell), a classical cellist, is teaching students in obscurity while Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has given up his rock 'n' roll dreams to become a businessman.
Evan hitches a ride to New York City, where he soon meets the mysterious Wizard (Robin Williams), who commands a gang of child street musicians. They all live together in an abandoned theater in a very Dickensian fashion. Williams plays Wizard as an unnerving Fagin-like mix of charm and threat.
After seeing what Evan can do with an urchin's guitar, Wizard renames the boy August Rush and sets about trying to cash in this golden ticket.
But August meets other, more upstanding adults who want him to use his miraculous musical powers for more constructive purposes. August goes along, fervent in his belief that if he can play loud enough, fate will lead him to his parents.
Director Kirsten Sheridan skillfully plucks the right notes, keeping the tone dancing on the slender edge between heartwarming and pap.
The music, a blend of score by Mark Mancini and dozens of original songs, is flat-out spectacular. It doesn't just complement the story, it drives it -- from the cacophony of streets sounds that August translates into music, to Rhys Meyer's surprisingly emotive singing. And Highmore is a whirlwind on the guitar, slapping the strings and banging the body in an unconventional style.
"August Rush" may alienate some viewers who see it as contrived and sappy. But this probably says more about them than this fine film.
Robin Williams? Really? Does he do OK, Chris?
I mean, not that he's the heart of the film...but I thought he was where funny goes to die. www.radaronline.com/features /2007/07/robinwilliamsgoodwillhuntinglicensetowedpatchadams1.php
(Alright, I just wanted an excuse to post that.)
I personally can't get past the Robin Williams soul patch.
saw this film tonite with my daughter- a good "fairy tale" - strong performances- Music is wonderful- a feel good movie for the holiday- If you have seen JR Meyers as Henry on the Showtime series- you will like him even more here !!
Forrest Hartman / Reno Gazette-Journal wrote a review of this movie that appeared on this website. Why? We movie goers in the Heartland value movies that "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." That is the Heartland Film Festival. This movie explores "what do you love more than food" which is a question many people in the U.S. need to ask. You could also ask the same question for sex and drugs. It offers hope for those who are miserable doing work that they hate. That if they commit themselves to what they love and do well, live could be full of joyful moments. And that might help with the food, sex, and drug problem. What a great movie, I can imagine that a few people in Reno could benefit from its message!
Derrick Filkins