Firstly, being a fan of Jonathan Rhys Meyers I had been hearing about this project for a while and I couldn't figure out how they'd make sense out of it. It does end up making sense even if it's a little far-fetched. It's about a son and his parents who all have to find each other, but my problem was that I couldn't figure out a way they could have gotten so separated in the first place. But luckily the writers did. It's pretty sappy and sentimental but if you're not that kind of person, I can't imagine you'd be interested in something like this anyway. It's the type of story that always comes out around this time of year, which is also the most sentimental time of the year. It gives you warm fuzzies so if you like something like 'Mr. Holland's Opus' or 'About a Boy' or 'Love Actually' you'd more than likely enjoy it.

I don't know if this qualifies as a musical but it should. It had lots of music in it although people didn't burst into fits of singing dialogue. The songs were normal songs, mostly original, and they were great. The young people involved were very talented, especially Jamia Simone Nash and Leon G. Thomas. Robin Willams and Terrence Howard had smaller supporting roles. (I've been saying that Williams and Bono resemble each other for 20 years so I'm glad he put the hat on and finally proved me right.) JRM and Keri Russell are co-stars who do their jobs well. But the star of the movie is Freddie Highmore. He's a good actor and I believe this was the first thing I've seen him in. I wouldn't be surprised to see him nominated for this.

I actually think this movie would be good for kids. I think there is maybe one bad word in it and maybe the way he came into the world might bother the extreme conservatives. But it's uplifting and a story about belief, especially belief in yourself. And I expect that'd be good for anyone to see, except maybe those who really hate too much sentimentality.

"August Rush" is a modern fairy tale that is based on "Oliver Twist". However, while it shares many story elements, the film diverges from the novel in many ways...so much so that it truly is a unique viewing experience.

When the film begins, two young musicians meet, have a one-night stand and are soon separated by her father. This father turns out to be a very manipulative person, because when he discovers his daughter is pregnant, he arranges for her to believe the child died at birth....though he instead put the child up for adoption and forged her name to the surrender papers.

Years pass and now the boy, Evan, is living in a miserable orphan asylum. He is ridiculed by the other kids because Evan has a strange gift....a musical talent that makes him more than just a prodigy...more like a savant with super-human musical skills.

Eventually, Evan escapes from this facility and ends up in New York City. At the same time, inexplicable forces draw his mother (who JUST learned her baby was not dead) and his father to the city as well. While the viewer knows what will eventually happen, there is still much film to go...during which you see Evan's amazing talents burst forth AND an evil manipulator, 'the Wizard' (Robin Williams, sees the boy's potential and takes him in and puts him to work. However, the Wizard is no humanitarian....he's pretty much like Fagan from "Oliver Twist"...a man who keeps a hoard of runaways and uses them as buskers to make himself rich. How will Evan escape the clutches of this evil man? And, how will he locate his parents?

This film is very magical in style....with wonderful music and so much to like. Yes, it IS predictable...but it's also lovely in how it gets to where you think it should go. Well worth seeing and a nice family film.

Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) is a renowned cellist performing in big concert halls. Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a guitar player and vocalist rocking it out. It's love at first sight. With their separate lives, they couldn't stay together. And when Lyla had their baby, Lyla's father gives away the baby to an orphanage while telling her the baby had died. Eleven years later, Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore) is absolutely certain that he will find his parents and he'll bring the star crossed lovers back together.

So far so good, the movie moves along. It's a modern fairy tale that needs desperately some visual magic. Freddie Highmore is good child actor. However he needs to do more with his baby face. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is good as a man who's lost hope and the music. Keri Russell is an amazing actress who's capable of inner sadness and powerful outer pain.

And then Evan runs away from group home to NY. He hooks up with a creepy monger Wizard (Robin Williams) who uses Evan and the other kids to make money. It's like Pinocchio when he's forced to join the circus. It's an uncomfortable storyline. And Robin Williams' creepy performance really ruins the magic of this story. I mean it's one step short of child slavery.