Robin Williams and current ‘it’ kid Freddie Highmore star in Kirsten Sheridan’s August Rush, a gritty, no-holds-barred drama about the high-stakes world of underground piggy-back racing
“If you listen, the music is everywhere,” says young Evan, played by the “it” child actor of the moment, Freddie Highmore (Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The optimism of this kid from a county boys’ home rivals that of Little Orphan Annie. Add a little Oliver Twist and an idyllic fairy tale ending and you’ve got August Rush.
Set in New York City, the film intercuts scenes of Evan’s lonely existence with the story of his parents’ first meeting some 12 years earlier. Lyla (Keri Russell) and Louis (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) are Evan’s unknowing parents. She a cellist and he a rock musician, the two met one night after the best musical performances of their respective careers. A magical night followed, after which they parted ways and, due to life circumstances, never reunited. Of course, that one night left a lasting impression. Lyla’s father disapproved of her decision to keep the baby and, during a difficult childbirth in which she was unconscious, he gave her child up for adoption. Lyla was told her son was stillborn.
Flash forward 12 years and Evan has run away from the county boys’ home, claiming to be following “the music.” His keen ear identifies him as a musical prodigy, and he soon falls into the hands of “Wizard” (Robin Williams). The slightly crazy Wizard leads a group of musical whiz kids who busk for cash, handing over more than half their earnings to him. After a run-in with the law, Wizard renames Evan and August Rush, musical genius, is born.
Director Kirsten Sheridan fails to pull the audience into Evan’s world. He’s a musical prodigy, which could have been a wonderful base for the film, but the viewer is instead caught up in the dizzying plot twists and rapid jumps to reunite Evan with his parents. The actors feel lost, too, especially since there is little to differentiate the physical appearance of Russell and Rhys-Meyers’s past and present characters. It’s almost as if there was no editor to help trim back the windy plot and give the film deeper characters to anchor the story. August Rush needs a little more Good Will Hunting and a little less Disney.
There is really no way of saving a movie from an unbelievable plot like this. It would be perfect fodder for a Lifetime Christmas Special; instead, it’s a piece of cinematic trash. Please don’t pay to see it. August Rush has a few moments of joy and the music is great, but you have to suspend a lot of disbelief to get through the clichéd dialogue and melodrama. Save the bucks — it will be on television in no time.
