August Rush (2007)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Kirsten Sheridan

Writers (WGA):

Nick Castle (screenplay) and
James V. Hart (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

An incredible journey moving at the speed of sound

Plot:

A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Prodigy | School | Juilliard | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9	6:30 AM	HBO
Sat. Nov. 14	11:30 AM	HBO
Tue. Nov. 17	6:00 PM	HBO

Cast

Freddie Highmore	...	Evan Taylor - 'August Rush'
Keri Russell	...	Lyla Novacek
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Louis Connelly
Terrence Howard	...	Richard Jeffries
Robin Williams	...	Maxwell 'Wizard' Wallace
William Sadler	...	Thomas Novacek
Marian Seldes	...	The Dean
Mykelti Williamson	...	Reverend James
Leon Thomas III	...	Arthur
Aaron Staton	...	Nick
Alex O'Loughlin	...	Marshall
Jamia Simone Nash	...	Hope
Ronald Guttman	...	Professor
Bonnie McKee	...	Lizzy
Michael Drayer	...	Mannix

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.

Runtime:

114 min | Israel:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:All | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | Germany:6 (f) | Singapore:PG | Germany:6 | South Africa:A | Argentina:Atp | Taiwan:GP | Brazil:Livre | USA:PG (certificate no. 43048) | Australia:PG | Peru:PT | Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The IND Hoyt-Schermerhorn St. station in Brooklyn was used for the subway scene when August tries to run away.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The license plates on the cars in NYC have the design of the current New York License plates. However, the part of the movie where Louis is chasing Lyla is supposed to take place 11 yrs prior to present day, being 1995-1996. Those license plates were not issued until many years later, probably 1999-2000.

Quotes:

Jennifer: [sees Louis on the projector] Oh my god! Is that you?
[Louis doesn't answer]
Jennifer: When were you going to tell me you were in a band?
Marshall: [Cutting in before Louis could answer] I'm sure there's a lot of things our Louis hasn't told you darling, like who'd did you write the song for?
Louis Connelly: [turns away from Marshall] I told you this was a bad idea.
Marshall: That's it, go on! Walk out on us again!
[Louis turns back to him]
Marshall: Eh, Lou?
Louis Connelly: [Walking towards Marshall] Say what you have to say Marshall!
Marshall: No man, go on!
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Jerry Maguire (1996)

Soundtrack:

Magic Time

Better than expected

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.