Superb modern fairy tale, one of the better movies I have seen in a while.

Rating: Null/10 (17 March 2008)

A couple of young musicians meet quite accidentally in New York, hit it off immediately, and have a one-night affair. He knew her name, but the next morning her dad whisked her off to the next concert. She was a cellist. Her lover never knew she became pregnant, and at birth her dad simply said "I'm sorry, he is gone." She thought he died, but he was simply "gone" so that she could continue her classical music career unimpeded.
Switch to 12 years later and we see Brit Freddie Highmore as Evan Taylor in a home for orphaned boys in rural New York. Evan is not your usual kid, he seems to be drawn to the sounds outside, the source of all "music." He firmly believes some day his mother and dad will find him and "music" will be the way it happens.
Keri Russell is cellist Lyla Novacek, who has turned to teaching. She lives in Chicago. Irish Jonathan Rhys Meyers is rocker and singer Louis Connelly, living in San Francisco and working, but no longer singing.
On his deathbed, Lyla's dad confesses what actually happened and told her she has a son somewhere, so the rest of the movie has her looking for him. One person who helps is Terrence Howard as social worker Richard Jeffries, able to help track down her son from records and provide a photo of him.
Meanwhile Evan has discovered New York, and befriends a young street musician. He finds shelter in an old abandoned theater, along with dozens of other children. They are all working for their "music pimp" Robin Williams as Maxwell 'Wizard' Wallace. He has sort of a protector role, but expects each one to go to different parts of NY to entertain and bring back "family money." Meanwhile young Evan discovers he has an innate ability to understand music, and to play such instruments as the guitar and the old pipe organ in the church. Wizard has him change his name, and as they see a rolling advertisement pass by "August Rush for the Beach" young Evan is given the stage name "August Rush", thus the movie's title.
Then young Evan/August is further recognized for his ability, and is taken in at Julliard. Much like Mozart did, young Evan hears complete compositions in his head then writes them down. He writes "August Rhapsody" and it is chosen to be performed by the Philharmonic in concert in Central Park. All the while being searched for as a missing person.
Logic tells us that all of this is pretty much improbable, better yet pretty much impossible. But taken as a modern day fable, it works very well. Young Highmore is just perfect in his role. Russell and Meyers are equally effective as the young musicians who later search for each other and for their son.
SPOILERS FOLLOW: At the concert, Lyla plays as guest cellist, then is walking away as she hears the playing of 'August Rhapsody', and is somehow drawn to the sounds. She goes back and recognizes that it is her son. Meanwhile Louis is in a car and sees the banner for Lyla and gets out of the car to follow the music. The movie ends with Lyla and Louis holding hands while watching their son conduct the orchestra, smiling because he knew he had found his family.