Rush to go and see it!

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2007)

I don't know how many people saw the trailer of Augustu Rush before seeing the actual movie, I unfortunately was one of the people who did so. The trailer I saw before Elizabeth: The Golden Age looked absolute garbage, in actual fact it made the movie out to be dull, with a plodding storyline, cheesy lines such as "I can hear the music" kept being thrown out, and all in all the movie looked more nauseating than entertaining. I had no intentions of seeing it and actually smirked when my friend suggested we see it. However, as I am writing a review for it you can no doubt guess I saw the movie. You will also have already noticed the extremely high rating I have given it. I only saw August Rush today because I had a choice of seeing this or Shrooms, and I will be damned if I see a horror film about mushrooms! Anyway I walked into August Rush practically groaning, I left smiling from ear to ear and feeling happier about life in general. It is surprising just how good a film August Rush is, sure its a bit slushy on occasion and its not realistic, but if you don't' feel moved by this movie then you are made of stone! The movie is full of incredible performances, the storyline is pitch perfect and never dull, and the direction perfectly done. In fact I believe the critics have been way too cruel with this movie as this is an extremely well done movie. The score of the movie definitely hit me most, I shall definitely be purchasing the soundtrack when I get the opportunity, and the music scenes especially directed well.
As I've said the performances in this movie are extremely good. Freddie Highmore, of Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is the main character. Highmore has always surprised me as a child actor, he is one of the very few that actually rivals and outshines the adult actors he is on screen with. He stole Finding Neverland with a blink of an eye, and he almost steals the movie here. He delivers such a brilliant performance and even makes the clunkier dialogue sound so natural. I am unsure whether he actually played the instruments in this film or not, but he still acted perfectly in the scenes involving music. Also you can't help but root for him throughout the movie, he's such a likable person and is such a likable character, you know his quest is ridiculous but you really hope he succeeds. Playing Highmore's long lost parents are Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell. Rhys-Meyers is one of my favourite up and coming actors at the moment, and he proves his strong acting ability in this movie. He also proves he's a damn good singer as well, something that shocked me. Keri Russell however is by far superior, her scenes where she hunts for her son are heart wrenching and you really care for her. She also has incredible chemistry with Meyers making their relationship believable in their brief screen time together. So who is the real star of the movie? Oh it has to be Robin Williams, who runs over the hills with the movie! Williams plays a Fagin-esquire character, who while funny at times also comes across as a nasty bit of work at others. Anyway Williams is in his element here and delivers one of his best recent performances. Terrence Howard also delivers an excellent performance, however his character is so pointless that you wonder why such a big name is associated with that character.
The trailer of the movie promised sappy, sentimental gunk, so is this really what the movie is like? Actually no, at least for the majority of it anyway. The movie of course is sentimental, but its never intolerable, its the touching kind of sentimentality, the kind where at the end of it all you have to remind yourself to remain strong and not cry at the happiness of it all. The movie also maintains a nice sense of humour throughout, its never the centrepiece, but Williams definitely has some more comedic moments. The movie is very well written, the clunkers I mentioned about only come about in the early scenes, and the ending so heart wrenching that you can't help but smile as you leave the cinema. The movies score is also pitch perfect, a mixture of rock and classical music, and they blend surprisingly well. Also whoever thought of blending the scenes where Meyers and Russel play together is a genius, the song that it makes is amazingly brilliant! The final big music sequence also is brilliant as well! The movie isn't perfect, the clunkier dialogue is irritating earlier and Robin William's character change is so sudden that it feel very forced. However these are mere quibbles as this movie actually comes out being one of the best of the year.
August Rush is a very good movie and I suggest you ignore those horrific trailers and just go and see it! Its one of the most touching movie of the year and is a good movie to make you feel happier as it comes closer to Christmas!