Dueling Guitars - August Rush - Louis & Evan playing together
August Rush is a musical drama film that was produced by Richard Barton Lewis.The story was written by Paul Castro and Nick Castle.An 11-year-old musical genius living in an orphanage runs away to New York City.While his mother and father search for him, he begins to uncover the mystery of who he is.The film ends with a major instrumental composition that he hears throughout his journey.
In 1996, Novacek was studying cello at the Juilliard School and living under her father's strict rule.Louis is the lead singer of a band.They have a one-night stand, but can't keep in touch.There is a baby on the way.She gave birth to a premature baby after being hit by a car following an argument with her father.While Lyla is unconscious, her father secretly puts the baby up for adoption.
The baby is living in a boys' orphanage under the name Evan Taylor, and he is assigned to a social worker named Richard Jeffries.Evan is a musical genius who is often bullied because of his perfect pitch and savant-like abilities.Evan runs away to New York City to follow the music in hopes that it will lead him to his family.Evan follows Arthur to his home in a condemned theatre, where he is introduced to Wallace, a vagrant and musician who teaches homeless, orphan, and runaway children to be street performers.Evan is so good that Wizard gives him his old spot in Washington Square Park, along with the guitar, which was also Arthur's.He tried to market Evan to clubs with the stage name "August Rush".Seeing the posters that Jeffries has placed for Evan, Wizard destroyed all the ones he could find, hoping to keep Evan for himself.
A talent agent and a music teacher live in San Francisco and Chicago, respectively.Louis tries to find his brother.When she was called to her father's deathbed, she abandoned her dying father and began looking for her son.
Louis talked to one of her neighbors who said that she was on her honeymoon.He gets his band back together in New York.After Jeffries meets Wizard and Arthur on the street, the police raid the theatre in which they are living.Evan remembers Wizard telling him not to reveal his real name to anyone.Evan takes refuge in a church, where he befriends a little girl named Hope, who introduces him to the piano and written music.August is noticed by the pastor of the parish and he takes him to Juilliard to impress the faculty again.August's homework and notes form a rhapsody.
In New York, Jeffries identifies her son as Evan/August.While looking for him, she takes up the cello again and accepts an offer to perform with the Philharmonic at a series of concerts in Central Park.August has composed music for a concert.August was pulled out of the school by Wizard after he interrupted the rehearsal and claimed to be his father.
On the day of the concert, August is back in his spot in Washington Square, while Wizard makes plans to smuggle him around the country to play.They had an impromptu guitar duet when he met Louis.Louis encourages him to go after August tells him of his dilemma.August escapes from Wizard through the subway and heads for his concert with help from Arthur.After his performance with his band, Louis saw his name on one of the banners and headed for the park.Jeffries heads for the concert after finding a flyer with a picture.
August arrives in time to conduct his rhapsody, which brings both Louis and Lyla to the audience.August smiles when he discovers his parents, knowing that he has been right all along.
The beginning of the final number is when Lyla plays Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor.
American guitarist-composer Kaki King played all of August's guitar pieces.King's hands are used in close-ups.
The score of August Rush was composed by Mark Mancina.The heart of the story is how we respond to music.The young boy believes that he will find his parents through his music.That's what motivates him.The movie's final theme was composed first.I could take bits and pieces of the ending piece and relate them to the things happening in August's life.All of the themes are pieces of a puzzle, so at the end it means something because you've been hearing it throughout the film.The score was recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros.
Film critics gave August Rush mixed reviews.The film has a 37% approval rating, based on 123 reviews with an average rating of 4.83/10, as of June 2020.Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.The film had an average score of 38 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally negative reviews".[8]
August Rush will not be for everyone, but it works if you surrender to its sentimental tale of evocative music and visual poetry.The movie's score and songs, created by composers Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer, give poetic whimsy to an implausible tale, according to the Hollywood Reporter.[10]