Is it mere coincidence that August Rush, the musical fairy tale
directed by Kirsten Sheridan, stars two actors who have previously
played unconventional versions of Peter Pan? Maybe. But the echoes seem
to be there, with Robin Williams playing Wizard, a ring-leader for lost
boys (and girls) living in their own little Neverland in an old theatre,
and wide-eyed Freddie Highmore portraying Evan Taylor, who wants
nothing more than a mother (and a father, too). This young lad can't
soar through the air, but his remarkable gift for finding music all
around him is every bit as magical as fairy dust.
When I first saw trailers for August Rush,
I was hooked as soon as I spied Highmore, who has replaced the
now-grown Haley Joel Osment as my favorite child actor. I thought he was
brilliant in Two Brothers, Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
and I suspected any film with him in the cast would be of high quality.
Besides, the premise of a boy who has never known his parents seeking
them out through music was entrancing, and Williams sweetened the deal.
The film did not disappoint. Highmore seems to breathe innocent
sincerity, and he is a big part of why this movie works despite the fact
that disbelief must be checked at the door. August Rush is primarily about his journey, a trek much like that of Fievel Mousekewitz in An American Tail, except that he doesn't even know his parents' names or what they look like. But he hears
them, and he's convinced that if he can just find a way to put the
music inside him out in the open, they just might hear him, too.
Initially, Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and Louis Connelly (Jonathan
Rhys Meyers) don't know they're looking for their son. Indeed, Louis, a
washed-up rock star, has no idea he fathered a child, while Lyla, a
Julliard-trained orchestral musician who delivered Evan after sustaining
serious injuries in a car accident, was led to believe he was
stillborn. Unfortunate circumstances have kept them separated from each
other and from Evan, and though they both feel something important is
missing from their lives, it's hard to say just what.
Evan is a
musical prodigy who has never picked up an instrument. He's especially
fascinated by wind chimes but finds melodious patterns in all the noises
around him, and the film is presented in such a way that we are able to
tap into his inspiration even before he finds the means with which to
express it. It seems a little far-fetched to me that this boy would have
gone more than 11 years without access to a guitar, a piano or even a
harmonica, but a lot about this movie is far-fetched, and I'm willing to
accept it because of the sheer exhilaration that accompanies each of
his musical discoveries.
It starts with a guitar, played by
the talented, street-smart Arthur (Leon G. Thomas III), who leads Evan
into the fold of the eccentric, anti-establishment Wizard, who both
nurtures and manipulates children with musical abilities, forcing them
to work as street performers and hand the tips over to him. He reminds
me of Fagin in Oliver Twist, who I always felt a little sorry for
despite his criminal activities. While Wizard facilitates Evan's real
immersion in music and gives him the titular pseudonym, he's not quite
the kindly mentor the previews led me to believe, but he's not all
sinister either.
When an evening choir practice draws him to a
church, Evan progresses to piano and organ and soon is writing his own
rhapsody, taking into account all the sounds and events that have moved
him so profoundly. He takes to each new instrument instantly, without
having to take time to develop proficiency, and between Highmore's
ecstatic expressions and the combination of music and cinematography,
watching and listening is truly a joyful experience.
It's
Highmore who really drives the film, but Williams, who seems to be
emulating Bono with his get-up, is compelling, while Thomas and Jamie
Simone Nash, who plays Hope, a young vocalist Evan befriends, both boast
considerable musical skill. Meyers, whose character reminds me of
Charlie Pace on LOST, is fine, but Russell is positively
luminous, and Terrence Howard conveys a sense of kind concern as Richard
Jeffries, a social worker who takes an interest in Evan's welfare.
Rush to the cinema this November for a touching tale of family, love
and the power of music. It's a film you're not likely to forget any time
soon.
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