August Rush

Inspirational movies are a dime a dozen these days. Inspirational biographies, inspirational sports movies and tales of triumph are getting released all of the time. So, I have to admit that when I saw the trailer for this movie I thought it looked good, but kind of ordinary. As it so happened, though, we got the movie at theater where I work and with that comes a free admission so I figured what the hell. Besides, who doesn't want to watch Robin Williams do his best Bono impression?

Evan Taylor(Freddie Highmore) is a kid with a dream- to find his parents. He has been living in a boys home for his entire life and something inside of him believes in music and believes that the music he hears will bring his parents to him. Social Worker Richard Jefferies(Terrance Howard) is now on his case and while he seems earnest enough, Taylor feels he needs to take it upon himself to head out to the big city and find his parents. Lyla Novacek(Keri Russell) is a concert cellist who eleven years ago had a one night stand with a rock guitarist, Louis Connelly(Jonathon Rhys Myers) and it resulted in a pregnancy. Connelly never knew about it and after a car accident where some complication arose, Novacek is told by her father that the baby died. Of course, the baby didn't die and when her father is on his death bed, he tells her that he lied and that the child is alive. Back in New York, Taylor comes across a creepy, unethical, illegal and did I mention creepy, Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace(Robin Williams). Wizard is a grown man who lives in an abandoned theater with a bunch of homeless kids and he teaches them to play music, puts them on street corners and takes the money they make. Wallace sees that Taylor is truly a musical prodigy and takes him under his wing, naming him August Rush. Meanwhile after 11 years Connelly goes back to looking for his one night stand and soon all 3 major players end up in New York with their music.

Freddy Highmore is an adorable dimple faced kid who is making the most of his youthful attitude before puberty kills him and forces him the way of Hayley Joel Osment. He plays August Rush as a very detached, yet quietly brilliant child and his performance is perfectly effective. We always feel for him and we believe that he believes music can bring his family together. Russell and Myers are both very easy on the eyes and gives a certain amount of depth when they are on screen, but the movie belongs to Highmore. Also, Robin Williams does a pretty good job keeping his manic tendencies to a bare minimum. Highmore carries the movie pretty well and the faults of the movie don't have anything to do with the child actor who has been great in the few movies in which he has starred.

The fault of the movie lies in the plot contrivances involving the Robin Williams character. I understand he is necessary when Rush first gets to New York but when he becomes the "villain" of the movie, I kind of lost interest in it. The movie doesn't need a real villain except to bring a false conflict and expand the movie another 15 minutes or so. I thought the movie was working just fine until Williams bounced back into the picture with almost comical threats and even the resolution of that conflict felt forced and unnecessary. However, that really is the only major fault in the movie that I found. People always assume I have something against inspirational movies. They assume that because I love to rant about what I hate so much that I don't have a part of me who wants to be inspired or wants to believe that stories can have happy endings. Well, I love a good inspirational movies. I want to believe that things can be better if you believe in them and hope for them and work for them. This is that movie. Rush doesn't spend the whole movie just hoping his parents will hear the music; he creates the music for them to hear. Rush is trying his ass off to make sure his parents hear the music he creates.

In regards to the music, this movie handles the music with such delicate grace that it moved me on many occasions. Rush hears the music in everything- the wind, basketballs, steam factories- and the sounds and sights of each note, of each organic symphony is handled with such beauty that it is impossible not to wrapped up in the music of that world for near two hours of the movie. Music breeds hope, love, life and creates memories for the people in this world and it is a joy to watch it happen. Sure, the movie is a bit cheesy and ultimately predictable, but what wasn't predictable was the closing scene. I was so sure there would be another scene tacked on to the end to make it the actual happy ending people crave, but they didn't. They ended the movie the way it needed to be ended. I wouldn't tell everyone to run out and watch this movie, but if you love music and want to be taken on a modern day fantasy story, this movie is for you.