Good, not great, film

Rating: Null/10 (22 September 1999)

Being a piano player myself, I was interested in this tale, even though I had no idea who David Helfgott was. I found it a good movie, though not a great one; the whole thing about the Rachmaninoff piece having the power to drive people crazy was a bit pretentious, I thought. Other than that, though, it was good, especially when Rush allowed us to see the quiet moments. And I don't think we were encouraged to see him as "special" just because he was somewhat crazy, as some have charged. I also think Noah Taylor, as the teenage Helfgott, was the most overlooked performer in the cast; this and FLIRTING prove he's got a lot of potential.