August Rush – Review

Credit: www.impawards.com

Director:

Kirsten Sheridan

Cast:

Freddie Highmore .August Rush
Keri Russell .Lyla Novacek
Jonathan Rhys Meyers .Louis Connelly
Robin Williams .Wizard
Terrence Howard .Richard Jeffries
Leon G. Thomas III .Arthur
Jamia Simone Nash .Hope
William Sadler Thomas

Warner Bros. presents August Rush. Written by Nick Castle and Paul Castro. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG (for some thematic elements, mild violence and language).

If you’ve ever seen the scene in Alien with John Hurt having an out of body experience, then you may get a similar sensation watching August Rush. No, aliens do not run amuck, but it is clear that the makers of this picture wanted to pull at our heartstrings. Not just at them, but to the point where everything comes undone. Why all the pulling? The material should be able to flow at an even keel.

Meant to be a boisterous experience with scenes that are supposed to heighten our emotional response, the amount of heartstring pulling plus the clichéd characters and actions is just too much. We have the perfect little orphan, who goes by August Rush, who just happens to be a musical prodigy. And apparently this magical gift is the tool that will aid him in his quest of reuniting with his lost mom and dad.

Turns out his mommy and daddy are every bit as gifted in the musical department; August’s mother, Lyla (Keri Russell), is a cellist and his father, Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), is the lead singer of an up-and-coming rock band. To exploit things further, the mom is a woman with a privileged upbringing, while the father falls into the category of the have-nots.

Freddie Highmore, young Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is the young orphan, who consequently can also be touted as the Dakota Fanning flavor of the moment. Having spent eleven years in a New York state orphanage, this modern day Oliver Twist, that is escapes the bunk beds and bed sheets of the sullen domicile in favor of the streets of Big Apple, an adventure all unto itself. In true Dickens fashion he meets a friend in Arthur (Leon G. Thomas III) and a villainous benefactor in Wizard (yes, that isn’t a typo) played by Robin Williams. Seeing Williams in his Bono getup, add the sideburns and goatee, I didn’t know whether to laugh or take the fashion statement seriously. Affable in the beginning only later to reveal his seedy side, Williams’ performance is of course more animated than any of the supporting players in August Rush.

Terrence Howard is completely wasted as a Child Service’s official who takes a special interest in August’s case. His screen time is minimal, hence the “with Terrence Howard” mention in movie ads and spots. Through shear happenstance he encounters the orphan’s real birth parents just days after meeting August, real name Evan Taylor, for the first time. Add this to the little cliché occurrences hidden in the sheet music, uh hum, screenplay.

As August makes his days in New York banging and strumming a guitar at the behest of Wizard for coins and dollar bills, his mom and dad are busy finding their way back to music. Neither knows they have a son. And since Lyla’s demanding father curtailed their short courtship, neither has been complete. (Cue the Renee Zellwegger-Jerry Maguire tear ducts.) Meyers, the star of the most recent Elvis Presley mini-series, again sings and plays guitar, but is not as engaging. Keri Russell, whose homely performance in Waitress earlier this year was charming, here her dreary-eyed depression mixed with the passionate cello playing does not a good performance make.

In truth, the musical performances, resounding and energetic they may be, move the story and have a mystical aura about them. The intent is that the music entrances you to the point where (hopefully) you forget about the screenplay’s formulaic nature. Sadly, we are unmoved.

The only break from the standard drama would have been to see the ghost of John Belushi show up and break August’s guitar into a million pieces and the dumbstruck reaction that would follow.