A stunning soundtrack can't save the drivel that is 'August Rush'

Rating: 5/10 (27 September 2008)

Part romance, and mostly sentimental mush, August Rush is the perfect example of a film that had the potential to be good, but failed miserably. Keri Russell, who plays Lyla, is clearly attempting the dreamy musician look, but succeeds only in looking dazed and confused, and Rhys Meyers (Louis) looks as though he is nursing a perpetual hangover. Together, they make the perfect intoxicated couple, so the audience is not at all surprised when we are introduced to Evan (the talented Freddie Highmore) and he wears a constant faraway expression and whispers in a hoarse voice.
The film is promoted as 'gentle fantasy' and 'a modern fairytale', and tells the story of supposed music prodigy Evan's attempts to find his estranged parents through the supernatural musical connection they share. Evan's musical gift is obvious from the start; in the opening scene, he is sitting in a field with an ecstatic look as he listens to the grass sing and whispers distantly about the omnipresence of music. This connection with music eventually drives him to escape the orphanage and walk unsteadily through strange roads until he ends up in modern-day New York. Once there, he is adopted and renamed 'August Rush' by Wizard (Robin Williams) the erratic street musician, who houses homeless children, buys them instruments, and exploits their musical talent.
The odd mix of beautiful music and talented actors with a terrible script and contrived plot is the rhythm and pulse for the next hour and fifty-three minutes. It must admitted that the music sequences- such as Highmore's first introduction to a guitar and to a local Gospel choir- have flavour and flair, and the music soundtrack is probably one of the best in recent films. Composer Mark Mancina evokes an otherworldly feel in his thrilling score, but director Kristen Sheridan fails to capitalise on this, and what could have been a truly inspirational and heart warming story is ruined by the clunky, cliché-filled script Nick Castle and James Hart seem intent on shoving down their audience's throats.
The film over-exaggerates August's musical genius, and the scene where he sees a pipe organ and, within the space of one day, teaches himself to play it- replete with pedalling and a thorough understanding of stop registration- is an insult to any musician. Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to ask an audience for suspension of disbelief, August Rush requires one to throw one's disbelief out the back door before muzzling it and putting it in cold storage. The sheer absurdity of many of the plot holes- most of which can be seen a mile off- is too much to handle, even from a film that peddles itself on its 'gentle fantasy'.
Whilst the final scene features a soul-stirring symphony, the ending is more than a little abrupt. Despite its near-redeeming soundtrack, August Rush is an ambitious failure as a film, and not even a solid effort from Freddie Highmore can divert the audience from its insulting, insipid script and cliché-ridden plot.