Really beautiful and the first of the truly moving Holiday films

Rating: Null/10 (27 November 2007)

August Rush will bring some to tears. It'll be the people that have big hearts and love to open them and imagine and believe in destiny and magic. Then you'll have the realism driven, hard core, non-believers (Muggles if you will) who will likely be driven to vomit by the entirely sweet and moving August Rush. I figure critics will likely fall under the latter category but this might be the first film to really touch movie goers for the Holiday Season because although it's not Christmas focused at all it has this magic and destiny feel to it that is just downright sweet. On top of that there is some really great performances and while the film is not a musical, music plays a bigger role in this film than in some musicals. Aside from the completely non-descriptive one night stand on the roof top (it barely shows them kiss) and some scary moments involving the kids and their street caretaker the film is squeaky clean. A perfect family movie that everyone can love. Although never compared to or sold as a retelling the comparisons to Oliver Twist, to me, were glaring and that's not a bad thing. There just was a lot of comparisons and yet a completely different story.
Freddie Highmore might be one of the greatest young actors of recent years. I really hope he finds his niche in adult acting but for the time being he really is amazing as the charismatic naive and perhaps slightly autistic...August Rush. I say slightly autistic not because it's ever mentioned but perhaps the way the character is portrayed. He has this unbelievable talent for music (coming from the fact both his parents are talented musicians) but he also has these moments where he loses himself in the music and hears beats in absolutely everything. His performance is magical, almost as magical as his unbelievable performance in Finding Neverland (see my review.) He easily carries this film on his own. Keri Russell is lovely and enchanting as Lyla Novacek, the boy's mother who has thought for the past 11 years that her son had died. Russell is very emotional and just a spectacle to watch and really draws you into the various emotions that she feels. She definitely captures the loving mother and the determined woman. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is charismatic and charming as the rocker Louis Connelly and the boy's father. Meyers and Russell really do have spectacular chemistry in their very brief romance and you want them to come back together because they both play such incredibly emotional characters. You become enthralled with the parents and the boy and the family they could be. Robin Williams turns in one of his greatest performances in ages and I absolutely adore Williams especially in serious roles. He plays slightly mislead homeless leader Maxwell 'Wizard' Wallace. He has taken it upon himself to take in homeless kids and use their musical talents to collect funds out on the street. He takes a special interest in the incredibly talent August Rush and even gives him the name. He's not a bad guy per se, he does take care of the kids but he is overbearing and self involved and really goes off the deep end over August. Terrence Howard turns in a small and a little toned down performance as the determined and caring Social Worker who wants to reunite Russell with her son. Howard is a fine actor as shown earlier this year in The Brave One (see my review) but he's not given one of the bigger and more important roles and not a lot to work with so he kind of gets out shined.
I am not a musical expert nor a musician of any kind, much to my disappointment so they could have played those instruments in the film with their feet and it couldn't have mattered to me. But apparently it is really a HUGE deal that some or all of the actors weren't actually play their instruments in particular Russell's "Horrid" Cello performance. I'm quoting a reviewer on IMDb that said it ruined the whole film for her and that is really very sad because her acting was spot on and whether or not she held the cello right had nothing to do with magic and emotion of this film. It was really about destiny and of course you have to suspend belief a little to truly appreciate it because ultimately it's a modern day fairy tale and it's beautiful and sweet and I think people should stop over analyzing and enjoy it for what it is because it is so very entertaining and will bring tears to your eyes and a tap to your shoe. It's an adventure about an Orphan boy who just wants to have his music heard because he knows it will bring his parents back to him. Take the kids, take the family...it's just simply beautiful. 9/10