August Rush = Wonderful Music, Superb Story, Inspiring Movie

Rating: 7/10 (28 November 2007)

I've been watching a lot of movies lately; I work at the local theater and get to view them for free. Trust me, I've seen a lot of flops over the past few months. Most of them have been entertaining in their own right yet lack a certain depth to the script.
While watching Fred Claus, I saw the previews for August Rush and decided to give it a try.
I walked into the theater and saw only two other people; apparently, nobody goes to the movies on Wednesday nights here, but that's fine with me because I like to watch movies by myself; watching movies is a personal experience for me.
We are immediately introduced to Freddie Highmore's character, Evan, as he "conducts" the wind sweeping throughout vast fields of wheat. From this moment on, we are surged into a story filled with beautiful music and a character we have no choice but to root for.
Evan lives in an orphanage and will do anything to find his parents (and by anything, I generally mean play music: he believes that if they hear him, they will find him) Lyla(Keri Russell) and Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) are two talented musicians who live completely separate lives but can't forget that night they spent together 11 years ago. Both feel burned out and hate their lives, feeling that something wonderful is missing, but what?
From here we are swept into a marvelous story of love, family, and, of course, music.
I thought this movie was amazing. I actually wanted to cry several times, and was on the edge of my seat for about the last 30 minutes, despite the fact that this is not an action flick, like, say, Kerri Russell's previous movie, MI3. However, I did feel that there were parts in the beginning that were a bit slow, and some scenes were shot so that I felt like I was on acid. Kerri Russell had a few cheesy moments at the beginning as well, which I thought were poorly acted. I must say, though, that all of these things were forgotten as the story progressed. When it ended, I felt like running or crying, or picking up a guitar and strumming away. I truly felt inspired which reminded me why I liked movies so much, after all.