August Rush

August Rush (Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams) — First, suspend your disbelief; yes, this is totally implausible.  The one-night affair; the disapproving father who puts the cello prodigy’s love child up for adoption but tells the daughter the child is dead; the child’s escape from the orphanage; his search for “the music” and his belief it’ll lead to his parents; and the entire conclusion.  But once you do that, it’s a wonderful, heartwarming tear-jerker with excellent music and lovely characters.  Child star Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is the headstrong believer who just hears music in everything around him.  He is convinced the music is his path to his parents, which turns out to be true.  Mom is played by the ever-present, ever-likable Keri Russell (Waitress, Mission Impossible III), the Julliard-trained cellist whose performing career was sacrificed after she “lost” the baby.  The father is the talented Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point, MI-III), who proves he can sing, too.  He is the vocalist of a promising brother band who loses his own musical motivations when he “loses” the cellist.  The heart of the story is the boy’s discovery of his musical artistry with the aid of a street musician/hustler played by very believably by Robin Williams.  Everything after that is pre-ordained, but it’s fun and weepy to watch.  If you aren’t into sentimentality, skip it, but if you’re ready to be uplifted, entertained, and to cry a little, it is worth the time.