Takes unbelievability to new heights

Rating: 3/10 (22 September 2008)

(*Spoilers*) Famous concert cellist Lyla has a one night stand with rocker Louis that produces a son Evan (aka August) who is surreptitiously sent to an orphanage by Lyla's controlling father because he believes the child may harm Lyla's career. After these opening scenes we rejoin the story when August is about twelve. Then the separate paths of the three protagonists are traced until their inevitable reunion. It would take more than a thousand words to detail all the preposterous story lines. Let's just consider a few. August is a musical genius who would easily put Mozart to shame: he becomes a skilled guitarist within the first hour of exposure to a guitar; he starts composing and notating a symphony immediately after being shown the basic scales; he can play an organ, complete with pedals and stops, on a first try; he is skilled enough to conduct the New York Philharmonic; in the final scene we come to understand he has a certain level of extrasensory perception. There are some equally absurd things that could be said about Lyla's story.
I suppose this would all be well and good if this were clearly presented as fantasy, but as far as I could tell we are expected to ascribe some element of belief to the happenings. There is a serious problem with this--such stories advance the "you can be anything you want to be" philosophy without any discussion of how that can frustrate kids when they realize that it's simply not true. Young people who watch this movie could be led to believe that accomplishments occur without the long hard work required, no matter how talented they are.
Freddy Highmar (as August) has a winning screen presence and an infectious smile, but I am not sure his acting ability is beyond that of the charming kid next door.
The most infuriating thing is that there is the kernel of a good movie here. The scenes illustrating August's sensitivity to all manner of sounds is well done. I'm sure that this is true of most musicians and I would liked to have seen that explored in more detail. Some of the guitar work is excellent and I think there must have been someone behind the scenes with a developed musical sense, it's too bad that that person (or persons) was not given more free reign.
This is an unfortunate misfire.