Same Note Sammy
I'd have enjoyed this movie more if... well, if it had been better! I was expecting a serious movie and was dealt a Dickensian, Hollywood fairy-tale where actors are merely props for the movie's symbolism: Keri Russell is sublime and disciplined classical music and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is hip and emotional Rock and Roll. A short-lived fling gives birth to Freddie Highmore, a super-gifted, musically inclined child who integrates both. Robin Williams plays an interesting character, the only complex one in the movie, who represents, to me, the stages of a career in music which in the end goes bad: Inspired and driven by love of the art initially which then turns materialistic and self-destructive.

These aspects could have, if they had been done correctly by writer/director Kirsten Sheridan, been interesting. What is beyond reproach are her sets and shots; she has the ability to create in her movies a world one wants to live in. I absolutly love her use of colors and light. Yet, using actors as chess pieces to tell a story is just bad film-making, I'd have expected better from her. The problem is that once a writer or director decides to make symbols out of characters, the actor is trapped into playing the same note (and isn't that ironic?). That premise leads the movie to make several unbelievably stupid choices: After Rhys Meyers abandons his super-hip band in New York (there was talk about "going back to Ireland") he finds an unlikely, super-cushy job in California. This type of overtly-privileged fantasy life is fine for the OC or 90210, not for a movie that wants to be deep. When he runs into a former band mate years later we find that although the band broke up after he left, somehow they ALL live in California and within driving distance of each other! This is just insulting your audience. Beyond that, August Rush is just enervatingly sentimental; I haven't rolled my eyes at a movie so much since the English Patient.

This movie has heart, is beautifully shot, is family friendly and even something you might enjoy if you are in the right mood. It is about a universe of sounds and how harmony brings us together, about integrating all the notes in our scale and the value of art, discipline, emotion and Love. Too bad there's a droning single note throughout the movie and an excessive amount of emotional sap that makes it easy to be cynical about it.

Give me a break!!!
All I can say after seeing this highly recommended movie is...Puhleeze!!! Nearly every movie has some unrealistic "hollywood" aspects to it that stretch believability, but I have never seen anything that quite compares to August Rush in this way. Keri Russell is not very believable as a renowned concert cellist in the first place. On top of that, when she is playing a concert at the beginning and end of the film, she somehow knows that her true love, Jonathan Rhys-meyers, is playing a rock concert somewhere at the same time, and he knows that she is playing a concert at the same time, and their music is perfectly in sync, and somehow at the end of the film she knows that her son can hear her playing through a subway grate, and somehow the boy ends up running away from the evil Robin Williams just in time to make it to the concert to squeeze into a tux and direct the Juilliard orchestra playing his composition, and somehow he knows that his mom and dad are in the audience standing down in the first row... you get the idea. Everyone in the film must be clairvoyant I guess. This is pure sentimental pap.

Wonderful movie
This is a great "feel good" movie with wonderful music and acting. I saw it on NetFlix and had to own it.

August Rush falls short
I've seen great movies without a fraction of the potential storyline of this one. The idea for this movie was great! Unfortunately, this movie wasn't. In almost every aspect of the movie, I feel the final product fell way short. The story was developed very poorly, probably made worse by poor direction and bad editing. All I know is I didn't believe any of it. I didn't understand the notoriety surrounding the mother musician; her character was never developed so one could believe in her ability. They added to the disbelief by the few times they showed Keri Russell "playing" the cello; she didn't fake it very well... they could have done that better. And I can think of a dozen of actors that have more musical ability and presence than Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He can't play, he can't sing, and the song they chose for him to "write" sucked. The actors conveyed no passion for their music or the feeling that music was really a part of them; Although I tried, I could never fool myself to believe they were musicians. August (Freddie Highmore) was more convincing, but even he was way too deadpan and passionless (except occasionally when he was playing). Robin Williams had more passion and feeling than everyone else in the movie put together, but even his character seemed fragmented and untrue. The story was developed poorly from beginning to end. This is so disappointing considering the potential this story had. The idea of music being all around us and in everything is powerful and compelling, and the idea of a prodigy like August developing and becoming public is thrilling. But this movie didn't convey these ideas well at all and was about the least powerful and compelling or thrilling movie I've seen in awhile. This movie had no ring of truth to it at all. The final production seemed rushed, superficial, disjointed, unconvincing and amateurish. Although the movie was O.K., I was very disappointed.

A good family movie
Safe movie to watch with anyone in the family.
Movie is very predictable, though.