Writers: Nick Castle, James V. Hart, Paul Castro
Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Robin Williams
Rating: PG
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: March 11, 2008

The buzz for August Rush was the first thing that led me to want to see it. The second thing, if we’re being completely honest, was the inclusion of Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I have been a much bigger fan of him since his inclusion on The Tudors. Meyers offers a wonderful performance and I have to admit, that I was surprised when I heard his singing voice. The music and score for the film was perfectly crafted, which was absolutely necessary considering the entire movie is based on musical themes. August Rush is most easily described as a feel good movie.

In many cases, I would avoid movies like this. I am cynical by nature and this love story with a positive message, based primarily on hope doesn’t seem like the normal story that I would find interest in. However, try as I might, young Evan/August (Freddie Highmore) ended up tugging on my heart strings. I couldn’t help but root for him and want him to succeed by finding just what he was looking for by the end of the film. Keri Russell stars in the female lead to Rhys Meyers’ male lead. While I am not a big fan of Russell, I have to say everyone in this film, down to the slimy musical pimp, Robin Williams’ plays, is perfectly cast, even if Williams becomes quite scary. The result is one of the best movies of the year.

Release Information:
Many critics were not kind to this movie. If people didn’t have problems with the fact that a child could have the musical ability of the child portrayed here, it was that the film was sentimental or predictable. There are truths in the fact that it is somewhat predictable and that it is sentimental. However, fans of the movie would not have it any other way. If the movie had ended in another way, it would not have had the satisfying aura that it offers. However, it is not the plot, as much as the music that music lovers will appreciate. The musical, creative drive of the film will lead music lovers to August Rush and it will convince them to love it by any means necessary.

Released on March 11, 2008 by Warner Home Video, August Rush comes on a one disc DVD in your standard DVD case. The disc includes the full-length feature film and a small selection of special features. The DVD is available at a variety of major retailers including Amazon where you can purchase it for $19.99.

The August Rush Plot
While we are greeted with an orphanage before we see anything else, August Rush begins with two musicians an Irish rock star, Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and a cellist with the Philharmonic, Lyla (Keri Russell). The two young musicians meet one night after their respective shows, share some time in the moonlight, and spend a magical night together where it is presumed that they have fallen in love. Due to a controlling father (hers) they are ripped apart before love can truly blossom (if it hasn’t already), only to lead to one of them going seemingly crazy and the other suffering a terrible accident.

Due to circumstances beyond his parent’s control Evan/August (Freddie Highmore) is abandoned by Lyla and Louis and ends up living life in an orphanage where he is picked on, tormented, and teased for being different. He never has a chance to know his parents and they go through life having no idea that he is alive somewhere, waiting for them. Despite all these problems, young Evan truly believes that his parents will one day come for him. A musical prodigy of sorts, Evan can hear the music in everything and he has a belief that the music inside him will bring his parents to him if they can hear it. Tired of the orphanage, Evan ends up jumping ship and is soon in NYC left to his own devices on a quest to find his parents, one way or another.

As the years pass we see that both parents have given up music for their own reasons. After Lyla, Louis had a breakdown and ended up in Corporate America where he is suffocating. Lyla teaches music, but cannot manage to play on stage for anyone. Despite these facts, the two still remember their one night fondly and they still seem to love each other. Lyla’s father sets a chain in motion by telling her what he has done and that she has a child out there somewhere. Louis meanwhile, decides to get back with the band. These two things have them both in New York City, which is also where Evan is. I bet you see where it’s going, don’t you?

Evan, who is left with no place to stay, meets up with a kid, Arthur (Leon G. Thomas III), who leads him to Wizard (Robin Williams). Williams plays a musical pimp who allows all these wayward kids to stay in this abandon theater. He sends them out to play instruments on the street and collects their money each night. Naturally, Evan, whom he later names August Rush, becomes his golden boy. However, August soon sees that life with Wizard is not any better than life in the orphanage. Wizard goes from caring to spastic and crazy, quickly labeling himself August’s guardian and eventually his father, in hopes of getting anything he can from August’s musical talent.

August manages to find new company and his talent leads him to places that he only imagined that he would be. Some label August an angel and others look at his talent as something much more impressive than heavenly matters. This all leads to a satisfying climax with an amazing musical score.

The acting had to be good for this to work because the story was overly fictional. Any orphan would wish such luck, but most do not get so lucky. This is something that could not happen in real life for the most part unless someone was truly the luckiest person ever. That being said, the actors were fabulous, from the awkward at times Highmore down to Russell, Rhys Meyers, and Terrance Howard even though it felt that he had little, if anything, to do here.

Cynics will likely want to gag, but I suppose this taught me that I am not as cynical as I thought. Either that or music means more to me than I originally realized. The movie’s main theme just might be right in my case. Music is one of those things that just cannot be resisted. In this case, that music is in August Rush.

Storyline/Plot:
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Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Sporting anamorphic widescreen and a transfer of 2.35:1, August Rush looks absolutely fabulous. The movie looks excellent from beginning to end. I did not notice any softness and grain was non-existent. The colors were dazzling. Warner Bros really did a nice job ensuring this transfer was handled with care. The film had to be structured in a way, where the streets of New York look harsher than the moments when they are at the amphitheater. The results are stunning and could not have ended up better.

The audio transfer was especially important because of all of the musical elements in the film. The audio offers Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds fabulous. While the dialogue is fairly standard, there are many musical moments spread throughout the film that needed to be handled in a way that ensures that the music appears as dynamic as it is. The music sounds fantastic, the dialogue is comfortable, and no volume toggling is necessary.

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Bonus Features:
Unfortunately, there is really only one special feature that comes with August Rush. The special features section includes just ten minutes worth of deleted scenes. The majority of these scenes are between Wizard and August. These are some of Wizard’s kinder moments, but it’s easy to see why they were left out. They weren’t really needed in the film. However, if you are interested in checking them out they are available. It would have been nice to have additional features. This is the one area of the DVD that seems rushed through.

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Bottom Line:
August Rush will not be for everyone. It’s a positive film with a good message, but some people will automatically rule it out due to the predictability. It’s incredibly easy to watch thanks to a great cast, good direction, and stellar quality. However, if you aren’t sure you might want to rent this before buying. While you might be able to watch and enjoy it once, it may not be one of those reoccurring films for you, like it will be for me. August Rush makes things seem simple. In the end, you may end up wishing that life’s writers were as kind to us as they were to August.

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