Shine has a few clouds

Rating: 6/10 (16 August 2003)

***************POSSIBLE SPOILIERS HERE******************************
Shine was a good film but in my opinion, has a few holes that the viewer must assume to fill in the gaps. A film should try and title it's location, especially if it is out of the U.S. I'm assuming that Shine took place in Australia by the credits. Also, when a film goes back to someone's past, like in David's case, they should tell the audience how many years ago it was. The major hole in Shine is what exactly was David's disease? One place I read said it was a nervous breakdown brought on by David's father and teachers. It seemed to me that it was a form of Parkinson's disease that gradually progressed over 15 years or so.
The best part about Shine was the relationship between David and his strict father. David's father seemed worried more about losing his only son than what David could actually accomplish with his gift. It's too bad that the film didn't focus a little more attention on David's "condition" and what the root cause of it was.