One of the worst films I have ever seen (up until I walked out....)

Rating: 1/10 (2 December 2007)

I had the choice of watching a few films at the cinema, but I logged onto IMDb beforehand and read the reviews posted by others for August Rush and saw it's rating of 7.3 so it seemed to be a pretty safe bet for an entertaining watch. A big mistake.
From the opening scene, Freddie Highmore is nauseating as the child at the centre of the story - but his acting is only one awful performance among many, Jonathan Rhys Meyers ranking the worst by quite a long way.
The plot is unbelievable, even in a romantic, fairytale style of storytelling. Why is the father able to give a baby away so easily, even the worst hospitals in the world would at least MENTION it to the mother, surely? Why is the Jonathan Rhys Meyers so emotionally distraught when all he did was spend one awfully-scripted night with a girl - as a singer in a band, wouldn't that be pretty mundane for him? Does nobody else find Robin Williams character, someone who is basically collecting children from the street a little WRONG? I even found the technical side of this film badly done...the boys guitar playing is unrealistic and when they use other people's hands for close-ups they are quite clearly the hands of an adult, and apparently an adult that doesn't believe in great skincare.
The person I was with finally agreed to leave after the girl was told about the father having the baby adopted. I wish I had been able to leave much, much before this.
This movie stole some of my life and I want it back, complete with an apology and a signed affidavit that they will not show it again.