Shine
SHINE (15)
D: Scott Hicks
Miramax/AFFC/Momentum (Jane Scott)
Australia/UK 1996
105 mins
Biopic
W: Jan Sardi & Scott Hicks
DP: Geoffrey Simpson
Ed: Pip Karmel
Mus: David Hirschfelder
Geoffrey Rush (David Helfgott
- adult), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Peter Helfgott), Noah Taylor (David - young man), Lynn Redgrave (Gillian), Googie Withers (Katharine Susannah Prichard)
Geoffrey Rush deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of
David Helfgott in this excellent biopic of the mentally-fractured pianist.
The story focuses on two stages of the musician's life,
initially as an aspiring young man, when his talents are pushed too far by his holocaust-survivor father. Following a mental breakdown and many years in a care home, David makes his comeback with
his piano-tinkling excellence.
Though the film pussyfoots around the subject of mental
instability, the drama is still prevalent in the many other key scenes. The acting of the ensemble as a whole is excellent, but it's very easy to see why Geoffrey Rush's performance earned all
the plaudits.
7/10
