Fails to Shine!

Rating: 4/10 (30 April 2015)

Shine (1996):Dir: Scott Hicks / Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Gielgud, Lynn Redgrave, Noah Taylor: Intriguing film about a life conquered by discouragement. The title hardly describes the gloom presented here. It regards a man with a broken soul whose only shred of light comes when he plays the piano. Geoffrey Rush plays him with spirit and anguish. His father survived the Holocaust and rejects his son's opportunity to take his music career to Europe. Predictable and depressing with little or no entertainment value. Directed with insight by Scott Hicks as the true story of David Helfgott and how he functions. Flawless performance by Rush whose music is his only light within the darkness of harsh discouragement. Armin Mueller-Stahl plays his father whose past dictates his interactions with his son. How this eventually plays out is not going to lift anyone's spirits. Supporting roles are somewhat straight forward including John Gielgud whose every scene seems to be to encourage Rush to follow his dreams. Lynn Redgrave looks uncomfortable as his wife who should know better than to get tangled up in this mess. While the message is strong, the delivery is less than inviting. Noah Taylor plays the Rush character in his teens. The result is an overrated and depressing character study that will fail to shine on anyone's day. Score: 4 / 10