August Rush (imdb)
While I can’t say I went into this film expecting anything grand (I went with friends who knew more about the story than I), I did hope to find a light and enjoyable diversion. Unfortunately, my minimal expectations remained unmet, and this fantasy/family drama was wholly unspectacular.
A one-night stand between two musicians leads to the birth of a boy imbued with musical talent. Circumstance causes the boy to become an orphan, and the parents have no knowledge of his existence. The young prodigy in the form of Freddie Highmore goes on a wild journey from the orphanage to the Big Apple, and he begins to unravel his talents.
Music ties this film together, for better or for worse. It acts as the fabric of this film’s fantastical universe but is never completely convincing. The music found within the film is pretty standard, thematic Hollywood fluff, though it does aspire to be more at times (cool guitar solos). The original score works well enough, but the portrayal of musicians by actors still needs work. I found Keri Russell as a classical cellist to be pretty laughable, and Freddie Highmore’s guitar skills seem pretty questionable as well. For anyone who saw/knows otherwise about these ‘musicians’, let me know - but I found them to be all pretty fake.
My biggest problem with August Rush is not its fantastical music focus, but for its wasted potential. The film is made of a cast that has done good work before, but none of this is evident here. Dialogue is sparse and only there to propel the plot. The rest of the development is focused on sound/music - a cool idea that doesn’t quite work.
In the end, August Rush is an exercise of parallel/montage editing between the dramatic/fantastical life of family of musicians. The film feels a lot like a bunch of trailers, each climaxing in cheap family sentimentality (emotionally manipulative). Unfortunately, these trailers go on for 2 hours. With names like Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, and Robin Williams, August Rush felt like unfulfilled talent; this boy is better left undiscovered or wait till DVD…
2-2.5 missing child flyers out of 5
November 19th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I have to say that this movie could be a lot worse. It is what it is. If you’re willing to suspend reality and you’re looking for an emotionally manipulative movie that tries to make you believe in the power of love, music, and family, it is touching and I can see it working for some people. No, its not a cinematic achievement, but it’s not a bad family-night-out type movie. I maintain the belief that, if one tried to add dialogue and exposition to this movie, it would turn into an angsty, over-dramatic Lifetime movie before it would turn into a “good movie”. And, thus, the decision to use music as the overarching “language” for the film may actually have been the prudent choice.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
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