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August Rush

Review By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

There are very few slam dunks in theaters this season. A lot of films have been OK for some reasons, and not so much for others. August Rush is one of those films that no matter how hard I tried to dislike it, for very legitimate reasons, I just couldn’t.

It may be one of the most forced stories ever told, not particularly well written or developed but it leaves you with the sweetest purest feeling as you leave the theater that you can’t help but like it.

It tells the story of a young boy growing up in an orphanage in upstate New York who never knew his parents, but feels that he will one day be able to find them through the playing of his music. A musical prodigy comparable to Mozart, young Evan Taylor, brilliantly played by Finding Neverland’s Freddie Highmore, hears the music in everything. From the roar of passing cars to the chirping of birds outside his window, everything flows through his mind in a beautifully harmonious symphony.

He eventually leaves to, “follow the music,” and winds up in the heart of New York City searching for his parents. He naturally stumbles upon a young street performer played by new comer Leon G. Thomas III who takes him in and introduces him to ‘The Wizard,’ an old bitter musician who worst than a ‘has been,’ is actually a ‘never was,’ played by Robin Williams.

This movie relies on more unbelievable coincidences than I have ever seen in a single film before. They seriously needed a budget on random coincidences on this film. Something to keep them in check because every time you turn around something is happening that you know would never ever happen. I can’t manage to meet up with people in the city when we both have cell phones, a prearranged meeting time and place, yet this kid can wander around and bump into his long last dad, social worker, newly adopted family and people from Julliard. As they would say on one of my favorite shows Grey’s Anatomy… “Seriously??? Seriously???”

But you end up forgiving all of that non sense because Freddie Highmore is literally the cutest kid on the planet. I left the theater thinking to myself that it was finally time to have kids of my own. Providing of course they were talented and polite.

In all seriousness he lights up the screen and emotes a sincerity and innocence that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. He’s truly a remarkable talent. I only hope that as he grows older, his talent will grow with him and won’t be replaced with the typical cynical reforms common to maturity.

Another stunning young talent discovered thanks to this film is Jamia Simone Nash, the young girl who plays a character ...