STUDIO: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2008
STARRING: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams, Mykelti Williamson, and William Sadler
WRITTEN BY: Nick Castle and James V. Hart
DIRECTED BY: Kirsten Sheridan
FEATURES: Additional Scenes

Leave your cynicism at home before you even touch the DVD case for August Rush, much less actually sit down to watch it. Like most modern musicals or any fairy tales, August Rush requires a heaping dose of sentimentality, suspension of disbelief, and the general hope that everything will work out in the end. Those of you who complained that this year's Oscars were too full of negativity and dark films, welcome to the other extreme. This is "No Country For Cynical Men" or "There Will Be Tears." Kirsten Sheridan (daughter of the accomplished writer/director Jim Sheridan and Oscar nominee for co-writing his In America) has made one of the most unabashedly emotional films of the year. So, is this modern fairy tale manipulative or heartfelt? It's such a fine line that it might come down to the mood you're in when you rent it. August Rush isn't perfect, but it's hard to deny that its heart is in the right place and if you approach it with the right attitude, it's impossible not to be moved by this tale of music, loss, and passion.

The title character, played with his near-trademarked, wide-eyed innocence by Freddie Highmore, says "I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales." August Rush requires a lot of believing. The most-adorable orphan has known since his birth that his parents never meant to give him up and that it was an accident. How? He just knows. He knows the same way that he hears music in the world around him. It's just there. August, whose real name is Evan Taylor before he becomes a street musician and takes the stage name, is a child prodigy. The first time he picks up a guitar, he plays better than anyone you've ever seen in person. And when he touches a piano, grown men cry. By the end of August Rush, our hero is writing an entire rhapsody. August believes that if he plays the music in his soul that his real parents will hear it and find him. Don't be surprised if you believe too.

The missing parents in this new take on Oliver Twist are a cellist named Lyla (Keri Russell) and a guitarist named Louis (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). After one romantic night, they're torn apart and, nine months later, poor Lyla is tricked into thinking that her baby died in childbirth. Lyla and Lewis lose their love for music and their passion for life, not even knowing that Evan/August is out there, until, of course, a magical, musical concurrence of events that could only happen in the movies. Before then, Evan meets a nefarious Fagin-esque character who's actually named 'Wizard' (Robin Williams), a helpful city worker (Terrence Howard), and a Reverend (Myketli Williamson) who helps him find his way. It's a film that feels like a musical with the actual singing and dancing numbers removed. It has all the same 'magical' beats that you expect characters to break into song at any minute. Sheridan's direction is a little disjointed at times and the film may take a while to work away at your cynical defenses, but don't be surprised if you believe in magic by the time the last note plays.

Warner Brothers doesn't do this underperforming movie many favors on DVD, giving it a great audio transfer but merely adequate video and a less-than-satisfactory collection of special features. In fact, 'collection' is too strong a word for a handful of additional scenes. August Rush is a movie about passion and creativity and no one could be bothered to even do an interview much less a full commentary track? Some films are clearly driven by profit, which makes it understandable when stars or directors don't want to come back and apologize for them, but even with its flaws, August Rush is an undeniably passionate film. It would be interesting to hear how that passion developed and was put on film. Hopefully, Rush will find a loyal audience (I expect this film will have a loyal cult following) and get the inevitable special edition it deserves.