First Hit: There will be no rush to see this film.
This film was poorly constructed from about every aspect except for the music. Maybe it was the screenplay, direction, editing, casting, or overall concept who knows; but in the end, the film is contrived in its attempts to pull at our heart strings and does nothing to help us to believe the unbelievable.
The story is about a young boy named Evan (AKA August) unknowingly given up for adoption by a cellist, Lyla Novacek (Played by Keri Russell), who got pregnant during a one night fling with a rock guitarist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
The boy (Freddie Highmore) “hears” his parents in the ethers and suspects they hear him. He practices playing universal music by doing Joe Cocker imitations in wheat fields. He runs away from the orphanage and ends up in New York trying to find his parents.
But instead of finding his parents he runs into Robin Williams. Williams (“Wizard”) finds, collects, and uses moderately musically talented kids to busk for him. Without any lessons, and using his best Joe Cocker wheat field experience, the kid picks up one of Wizard’s guitars and plays some incredible music first time out.
This unnatural ability to play naturally makes Wizard want to exploit him further. The kid runs off during in a raid on the building where all the kids are holed up and ends up in Julliard where he writes a full and complete orchestra composition during his first few months in the school.
The school decides to let him lead the orchestra during the premiere of his rhapsody, again with no experience. Unbeknownst to him his mother is part of the feature bill during this concert and his father, tired of not living his dream, comes to New York again to fulfill his dream and reminisce about his long lost love Lyla.
In an amazing set of coincidences they all come together in one place and realize who they are to each other at the finale of August’s composition.
Overall: If you are bored some evening rent the DVD, turn off the video and listen to some of the music, it’s quite good.