Film Review
'Shine' like it does, film full of spirit
By Scott FoundasFilm Editor
Scott Hicks'
remarkable new movie, "Shine," is the kind of eccentric bio-epic that could
easily have been made into sappy, schmaltzy fodder for the masses (in the
tradition of Barry Levinson's "Rain Man" and Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest
Gump"). However, it is instead realized with great moviemaking zeal,
clarity of vision and a truly adventurous spirit. It's a safe project
realized dangerously and without hesitation.It begins on a dark and
stormy Australian night in the early 1980s. A rain-soaked and seemingly
half-crazed middle-aged man (Geoffrey Rush) stumbles into a bar, having
lost his way, rambling uncontrollably. The man, it turns out, is David
Helfgott, a one-time celebrated concert pianist who now lives well outside
the public eye after years of emotional and psychological problems."Shine" is Helfgott's
story, and following that brief introduction, the film proceeds to flash
back to David's childhood as a prodigal music student. His talent creates
tension, however, between David and his father (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a
Holocaust survivor and musician himself who wants both to shelter David
from the rollercoaster of fame and selfishly to keep him at home Down
Under, despite offers to study in America and London.The relationship between
David and his father is key to "Shine," and Armin Mueller-Stahl's
performance is an impassioned portrait of an angry man who is denied the
opportunity to fulfill his own musical prowess and takes out his
frustration on his own son in the belief that it is in his best interest.
Noah Taylor ("Flirting") is also excellent as the teenage David, and he and
Rush have managed to develop an impressive number of similar mannerisms in
their attempt to create a seamless dual portrayal of the same character at
different stages in his life.David eventually does
travel to London, where he finds himself under the tutelage of master
pianist Cecil Parkes (John Gielgud, now into his 90s and busier than
ever--five films this year alone). It is here that David's true genius is
fully awakened, but with that discovery comes a certain madness that will
eventually cause him to crack under a bevy of self-imposed neuroses and
pressure.David's odyssey is a
testament to the endurance of the human spirit against formidable odds and
the destructive ability of the dark side of genius, but this is no ordinary
feel-good Hollywood melodrama. Instead, Hicks' vision is often nightmarish
and disturbing, as he shows us life from David's point of view, creating
one of the screen's most convincing approximations of the chaotic rush of
nervousness and heart-pounding adrenaline that comes from performing in
front of an audience. The sequence in which David performs Rachmaninoff's
notoriously difficult "Piano Concerto No. 3" is brilliantly accomplished,
with a visual and sound design that take us inside both the inner workings
of David's piano and his mind."Shine" also harbors a real
appreciation for notes scripted on sheet music and the way in which they
are channeled through an interpreter to produce beautiful music. It is a
tribute to Helfgott and others like him, and it is a film that manages to
elicit a genuine emotional response from its audience without playing down
to it or enlisting the aid of any obvious dramatic ploys. It's
manipulative, but it doesn't feel manipulative, and that's all that
matters. If anything, "Shine" feels too short and a bit rushed toward the
end. The movie doesn't quite seem to spend enough time on David's recovery
and relationship with the woman (Lynn Redgrave) who would become his
wife.A lot of that credit goes
to Rush, though, who is so good as the adult David that you wish he was in
more of the movie. His lightning-quick and nearly incoherent diatribes
rival David Thewlis' in "Naked" and are astonishing feats of verbal
dexterity. More importantly, though, a vibrant, three-dimensional character
shines through these affectations. Rush turns what could so easily have
been a terminally mannered surface portrayal into something more--a great
performance. B"Shine" opens Friday in limited release.