I've been having a hard time figuring out what I'm going to say about "August Rush." Overall, I liked the movie well enough. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, eventually settling on 4, because I decided that if it were on TV, I would watch it again.
The basic premise of the story is 2 musicians (Keri Russell and Johnathon Rhys Meyers) have 1 magical night together, but are split apart by circumstances of their lives. Anyway, out of the "magical night" they had a kid, which Meyers' character never knew about and Russell's character thinks is dead. The child, named Evan Taylor, then dubbed August Rush (played by Freddie Highmore), spends his life in an orphanage before circumstances land him in New York where he discovers that he is a musical prodigy. He has always believed that his parents "wanted him" but something kept them from being with him. He believes his music can draw them to him.
It's a very far fetched story, and at times, I found "August Rush" hard to watch. Evan/August is a likable kid, and he really goes through a lot. You can sort of imagine how hard his life would have been. Scenes with Robin Williams were difficult, because at first Williams' character is somewhat likable, but he quickly becomes a very hated character. Also, the entire "star crossed" nature of the romance between Russell's character and Meyers' character is sad.
But there are also many uplifting moments as well. Some include when young Evan gets to play his first real instrument, when he gets discovered by kindly church folk who recognize that he is a prodigy, and the final scene when he gets to conduct his first original composition. The ending was unsatisfying at first, but after some thought, I liked how the ending revealed enough to leave you with a "happy" feeling, without becoming too much.
Overall, "August Rush" is a good film, if you like unrealistic, somewhat sappy stories, which I usually do.
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