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August Rush 7 out of 10 Posted: 07/13/08
Running time: 1:54 MPAA rating: PG (Some thematic elements, mild violence and language.) Peruvian rating: Apta para Todos
Cast:
Freddie
Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams,
Terrence Howard, Leon G. Thomas III, Jamia Simone Nash, William
Sadler.
Photography:
John
Mathieson |
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I didn’t know what to expect from August Rush when I entered the theatre. (Yes, although it’s already been released on DVD in the States, it’s still playing in Peruvian theatres.) I knew the movie was about some prodigy boy that breathed and ate music, and that it starred Freddie Highmore, but not much else. And after I saw the actual film and the credits started rolling, I was kinda surprised. August Rush, while not the second coming, is a pretty decent flick. Performances are good, direction is OK – albeit severely flawed – but, most importantly, the music is enchanting. Believe it or not, August Rush reminded me of the movie I’d seen two days before – Hancock. Both have received pretty dismal reviews, when they’re actually decent motion pictures. Not great, but decent. August Rush is by no mean perfect, but imperfection doesn’t equal to crappiness, at least not in the case of this particular flick.
The film tells the story of (duh!) August Rush (Highmore), a 12 year old boy who lives in an orphanage with the hope of some day meeting his biological parents: cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and rock singer Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who experienced a magical night together, but circumstances separated them even though they clearly loved each other. Because of their hot encounter, Lyla eventually gave birth to a bouncing baby boy (August) but her father (William Sadler) gave the child up for adoption because he believed the newborn would depart her daughter from her career. He obviously didn’t tell her the truth; she believes her son is dead. How will August meet his parents? He believes he somehow has a connection with them, that music while make them meet. He is a prodigy, a kid who breaths and eats music.
Let’s start with the film’s obvious asset: the music. Even if the film had been a forgettable piece of garbage, the music only would have made it a tad better than an Uwe Boll movie. August Rush might not be a musical, but it contains enough music to make one, and every song and lyric is truly memorable. The rock tunes sang and played by Rhys Meyers are entertaining and cool-sounding, while the more traditional philharmonic pieces are simply beautiful. And did I mention than the main piece, August Rush’s concert theme, was composed by the amazing Hans Zimmer? It must be very hard for those who didn’t like the film to confess that, at least in musical terms, August Rush is a success. I’m definitely buying the soundtrack.
Plot-wise, the flick is a mixed bag. The soundtrack is first-rate, but the story isn’t. I tried to suspend my disbelief as hard as possible while watching many of the plot contrivances develop during the course of the movie, but it was pretty hard to buy some of the things occurring onscreen. The very concept of a “mysterious thingy” that connects August and his parents is hard to swallow (the way the kid explains it makes it sound like The Force from the Star Wars movies) and the ending, while emotionally effective, is logically deficient. For those who are usually very emotionally affected by these kinds of films, August Rush will work perfectly. But for those viewers who are more cynical and expect something more cerebral and less corny, the movie will probably feel artificial. To me, it was a little more complicated: I liked the movie because it was touching, but disliked some aspects of it that were too hard to believe.
Performances are, in general, pretty good, although there are a couple of disappointments here and there. Freddie Highmore is effective as August (real name: Evan), although he felt to me more like an “idea” than a real person. It was if I was reading an article about a boy genius: I get the fact that he lives music and loves it and is a master at composing/interpreting it, but I don’t know anything about his personality. The filmmakers did well at establishing who he is, but haven’t managed to develop him as a three-dimensional human being. Despite giving a solid performance, Highmore’s character is disappointing in that one really can’t root for him 100%.
On the other hand, the characters Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell play are more interesting. They seem more human – they express their feelings and are involved in a more emotional quest, while August looks, well, neutral all the time. Rhys Meyers and Russell do competent jobs at playing their characters, and even seem to know a thing or two about playing instruments. (I was surprised by Rhys Meyers’ voice, actually.) Robin Williams and Terrence Howard, on the other hand, are completely disappointing. Williams doesn’t seem to know how to play his character – he is sometimes sympathetic and sometimes a villain, while Howard has such little screentime that feels almost invisible. His character should have been played by a lesser actor – the filmmakers would have saved a couple of bucks, and wouldn’t have wasted the talents of an amazing actor like Howard.
Ultimately, August Rush is a decent movie, but shouldn’t been a little better. Although Kirsten Sheridan’s is OK, it sometimes looked a little amateurish, and she didn’t seem to know how to direct Highmore while playing “emotional” scenes. He cries a couple of times, but the viewer feels nothing. Additionally, the storyline is a little hard to swallow at times, and two disappoint – one because he gives a bad performance, and the other because he’s wasted. Despite these flaws, though, I enjoyed August Rush because it contains some beautiful music, and because it manages to touch the audience several times throughout its running time without feeling overly manipulative. I see why most critics didn’t like the film, but I still think they shouldn’t have been so harsh.
©2008 Sebastián Zavala - GG site