Ryan Chartrand“August Rush” is the inspirational story of a young, orphaned boy on a quest to find his birth parents – or to help his parents find him.
Driven by his love of music, 11-year-old Evan Taylor, played by Freddie Highmore (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) leaves his home at a New York state orphanage and makes his way to New York City, where he learns that he is a prolific musician.
Homeless and alone, Evan is looked after by Maxwell “Wizard” Wallace, a crazed, money-hungry, music-loving father figure played convincingly by Robin Williams. Aware that he has a gifted child in his midst, Wizard changes Evan’s name to August Rush so the authorities will not identify him.
In a series of twists and turns, the boy finds himself living in a church, taking classes at the Juilliard School and composing an entire symphony played in Central Park.
Parallel to his story is the story of his parents: an Irish guitarist played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“Match Point”) and a young, world-renowned cellist played brilliantly by Keri Russell (“Mission Impossible III”).
The two star-crossed lovers are separated after one magical night together rocks the course of their lives.
Sounds far-fetched, I know. But this charming, and often unbelievable, modern-day fairytale is a great movie for the whole family. It stretches the imagination, and plants hope in the hearts of cynics.
Russell’s moving performance as a mother in search of a son she thought was dead is worthy of critical acclaim.
Highmore is charismatic as the young protagonist, whose naiveté and optimistic attitude is sometimes over-the-top, but it’s still compelling enough to lead the movie down its inevitable and predictable path.
Terrence Howard (“Crash”) is underused as Evan Taylor’s social worker, but almost steals the show.
The real award for excellence should go to the actual musicians in the film and the composer of the music in the final scene.
Composer Mark Mancina and the Hollywood Studio Symphony perform better than anyone else in the film, and the final scene and film’s score brings “August Rush” to an emotional and enchanting conclusion.