Plot and Writing Inconsistencies Mar Nice Idea

Rating: 4/10 (22 December 2007)

This movie was not really worth my time. The previews made it look significantly more coherent and put together, but the plot lines in this movie are all over the place, and the weak music score does little to tie it all together. Meant to be inspirational, the movie comes off as silly and contrived, and in parts laughable. Too many characters, back stories, and side stories are introduced and left unattended. The love story between Lyla (Kerri Russel) and Louis (Jonathan Rys Myers) is passionless and boring. Freddy Highmore, as the title character, is frankly creepy throughout much of the movie. And since the movie revolves around music and the fact that August is a "prodigy", more effort should have been put into teaching the kid to look like he knew anything about music or conducting. The score for the movie is merely adequate, as is the entire movie itself.