Shine – Review

Shine

with Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Noah Taylor
Written by Jan Sardi
Directed by Scott Hicks (Fine Line)
by Barbara Restaino

With the recent crop of Australian movies in the theaters these days, Shine… well, shines. (Insert qualifier for cheesy pun.) Focusing on classical pianist David Helfgott’s retreat into a private world, filmmaker Scott Hicks discovers a contradiction between this eccentric, slightly confused individual and the precision of delivering some of the most complex music ever written. Hicks succeeds in translating this contradiction by using a refreshing, almost musical structure that counterpoints past and present, rather than using the straightforward, linear approach of a typical biography.

The opening scene is of Helfgott as an adult, played by Geoffrey Rush, one of Australia’s leading stage actors, in his first major screen role. His stuttering words intertwine with the smoke from his cigarette, and rain pulses on the collar of his overcoat as he pounds on a restaurant door. A waitress named Sylvia helps him home, and we are carried into the maelstrom of his musical career, beginning with Helfgott as a child (Mex Rafalowicz) at a music competition. His father, obsessed with the boy’s career, is physically and psychologically demanding. As a young man (Noah Taylor), Helfgott becomes a national sensation, but his father is holding him back.

Eventually, he leaves home for London, against his father’s orders. Disowned and disillusioned, he immerses himself in a competition at his illustrious music school. He performs a difficult piece, which is known in the world of classical musicians as the “Rach 3;” it was also his father’s favorite. His performance is the highlight of the movie – sweat drips from the ends of his hair, his fingers sweep over the keys, his brain bubbles over, the intensity sending him into a secluded world … and a mental hospital.

Throughout the movie, Hicks shows us pieces of Helfgott’s adult life, and again, we see the opening scene, which is outstanding as the beginning and end of an erratic timeline. It is not the end of the movie, however. From here, we see him rediscover music, and with the help of Sylvia’s friend, Gillian (Lynn Redgrave), he discovers love. Shine gives its audience an amazing soundtrack and a very likable, unlikely hero to believe in.