August Rush – DVD Review

A curious thing has been happening in the last several years when it comes to film. The exploration of myth and fairytale has come full circle, as traditional story-making has sometimes taken a backseat to trying to make grandiose statements and epic stories. 300, Beowulf and Stardust all came out in 2007 alone, exploring a modern look at mythos. So it’s interesting to see August Rush, which takes out the olden-time story settings and places a fairy tale in New York City.

August Rush follows the tale of a boy of the same name (Freddie Highmore). Conceived during a fated one-night stand between Lyla (Keri Russell), a talented cellist, and Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the singer/guitarist of a struggling rock band, August is raised in an orphanage dreaming of the day he could be reunited with the two of them. Taking matters into his own hand, the musical prodigy decides to go down to the city and find his mother. What follows from there is a film, while drenched in sentimentality, is a fairy tale about the connection that music brings to people.

While is sweet enough to cause the average person to become a diabetic, it’s meant to be that way. The film focuses on modern myth-making as opposed to being a more traditional piece about a child trying to find some semblance of family. Focused heavily in music, it’s more of a grand story than a small one. Kirsten Sheridan is going for a story of the ages, as opposed to something that would be gone and forgotten, and it clearly shows. This is a film of magical moments and the sort of story sometimes reserved for cheesy romance novels, but somehow it all clings together and works effectively.

Sheridan knows exactly what she wants to do and how to tell her story; this is a confident director with a story telling it exactly how they want to tell it. Sheridan’s story is bold and confident; there aren’t any missteps in the story or how she wants to tell it. This is a modern fairy tale, magic and all, and Sheridan’s main thrust is showing the world through the eyes of a musical prodigy. Rush’s experiences are interesting and very intriguing, as his view of the world through music is fascinating.

August Rush is a fascinating look at the mythos of the fairy tale, telling a story about true love centered on music’s ability to unite.

Presented in a Dolby Digital format with both widescreen and full screen presentations, the film has a superb audio/visual presentation. This is a film of big epic shots and a big epic score and it comes through magnificently; it’s almost an intoxicating experience to watch because of how good everything comes through. The audio is superb, using the system completely, and the film’s visuals come through cleanly and clearly.

Additional scenes are included with the DVD, which is its only special feature.

While it’s a pretty cruddy DVD in terms of extras, the film itself is fascinating if only because of its look at the mythos of the fairy tale. It’s worth a purchase for the music, but as a DVD package it doesn’t offer much beyond a good film with a good transfer.

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Warner Bros. presents August Rush. Directed by Kirsten Sheridan. Starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrance Howard, William Sadler. Written by Nick Castle, James V. Hart, Paul Castro. Running time: 102 minutes. Rated PG. Released on DVD: March 11, 2008. Available at Amazon.com