An orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift to try to find his birth parents.
Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Stars: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams.
Watched online, ok print.
24 songs in the Soundtracks, some classical, some post-punk?
Total fairy tale about a kid who hears music everywhere, finally gets told in 1 minute how to read music, gets immediately into Juilliard and writes a symphony performed by the NY Phil in Central Park.
His mother didn't know he was alive until halfway through the film. His father never knew he was born. RW plays a Fagan character mentoring child beggars to whom he's taught music, and our prodigy is with him for a while. TH plays the social worker on his case.
Without the strength of the performances, this probably would be awful. But FH (b. '92), who is currently in a tv series about a doctor who's autistic, conveys very well a person who has other things going on in his brain. He also conveys joy very well.
Oddly, KR, as his birth mother, "recognizes" him in a current photo, even though she's never seen an image of him at any age. She also "recognizes" his music when she's at the park performance (cello solo for a prior song). JRM has already encountered FH in the park, has been looking for KR to reconnect. They all converge at the concert. It's as though a fairy godmother swept her wand to make it happen. But it's satisfying because it's played well.
Rated 7.5 (97,960)
Warner & more, dir. Sheridan; 7-
