August Rush (2007)
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A musical prodigy living in an orphanage runs away to New York City to find his parents by following the music.
The story
In 1995, Lyla Novacek, a cellist, and Louis Connelly, a rock singer, have a one-night stand that results in a pregnancy. After a tragic accident, Lyla's father secretly puts her baby up for adoption, telling her the child died. Eleven years later, the baby, Evan Taylor, grows up in an orphanage as a musical genius with perfect pitch. Believing his parents are searching for him, Evan runs away to New York City. He joins a group of street performers led by a vagrant musician named "Wizard," who gives him the stage name "August Rush" while trying to market his talents.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1995, Lyla Novacek and Louis Connelly have a one-night stand. After Lyla's father secretly puts her newborn baby up for adoption and tells her the child died, the baby, Evan Taylor, grows up in an orphanage. Evan, a musical prodigy, runs away to New York City to find his parents. He meets "Wizard" Wallace, who trains him as a street performer named "August Rush." Meanwhile, Louis becomes a talent agent and Lyla becomes a music teacher; both eventually begin searching for the child. Lyla learns from her father's deathbed that her son is alive. Evan eventually finds refuge in a church, meets a girl named Hope, and is taken to the Juilliard school by a pastor. While Lyla and Louis search for him in New York, Wizard tries to claim August as his own. August eventually performs a rhapsody in Washington Square Park, where he is finally reunited with his parents, Lyla and Louis, in the audience.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States; South Korea
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kirsten Sheridan
- Writers
- Nick Castle · screenplay; James V. Hart · screenplay; Paul Castro · story; Nick Castle · story
- Cast and characters
- Freddie Highmore · Evan Taylor / "August Rush"; Keri Russell · Lyla Novacek, Evan's mother; Jonathan Rhys Meyers · Louis Connelly, Evan's father; Terrence Howard · Counselor Richard Jeffries; Robin Williams · Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace; William Sadler · Thomas Novacek, Lyla's father and Evan's maternal grandfather; Marian Seldes · Alice MacNeil; Mykelti Williamson · Reverend James
- Genres
- musical drama
- Themes
- Connection through music; Family reunion; Prodigyhood
- Tone and mood
- Sentimental; Poetic; Whimsical
- Premise and plot tags
- Musical Drama; Orphanage; Road Movie; Family Drama
- Reception
- August Rush received mostly unfavorable reviews from film critics, with a 37% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 38 out of 100 score on Metacritic. Critics described it as sentimental and contrived, though some praised its music and visual poetry.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 37% · review count: 122; Metacritic · score: 38 · scale: 100 · review count: 27
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Original Song · 80th · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was based on an idea by producer Richard B. Lewis and screenwriter Paul Castro.; Composer Mark Mancina spent more than a year and a half composing the score.; The final theme of the movie was composed first.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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