August Rush

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Directed by Kirsten Sheridan, August Rush is her second bash at directing a feature, having previously been Oscar-nominated for co-scripting the excellent In America with sibling Naomi, and famous director poppa Jim. The whimsical plot centres on a musical prodigy (Highmore), who believes that utilising his talents will somehow reunite him with his estranged mother and father, who were forced to give him up at birth due to domineering circumstances (having shared a magical night of passion). His mother (Russell) spends the course of the film trying to track down her talented son, whom she has yearned for ever since. Sheridan comes from a fine filmmaking pedigree, and has bagged a cast to rival any production of her father's, with Keri Russell being of particular notice after a stellar turn in the year's other breakout whimsical hit, Waitress. Highmore, too, is nothing if not prolific, having turned in distinguished performances in Finding Neverland and A Good Year - not too shabby for a 15-year-old. Williams and Meyers, meanwhile, have an unswerving fan base of ride-ready middle-aged women people who like to see a hairy man / rape a joke (guess who's who). The mass audience outlook is, at the very least, positive. So expect to have your heartstrings tugged and your ears pleasantly massaged by some beautiful music, while enjoying a top-notch cast with enough accumulative talent to make Jesus shave his beard and turn to Buddhism.