"You're a very lucky boy, David."      

SHINE (PG-13) 

Hailing from Australia and currently gracing many people's "ten best" list is Shine, a film which tells the true-life story of David Helfgott, a brilliant child prodigy pianist who is driven to madness in the face of his genius.  In Shine, we get a hauntingly complex view of Helfgott's life, exploring a quietly destructive relationship with his overbearing father, an incredible passion and talent for music, and the mental collapse that either one or both of these brings forth.  Along the way, we are treated to absolutely stellar performances by Noah Taylor (as the young David), Geoffrey Rush (as the adult David), and Armin Mueller-Stahl (as David's father), and some wonderful musical selections (piano pieces, of course) by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and others.

So, why not a higher rating?  Well, one would suppose (as I did) that a film blessed with such great acting performances and an engaging "based-on-true-life" story would provide for a powerful, moving, and potentially enlightening movie experience.  It should.  Unfortunately, Shine doesn't quite get there.  It's hard to describe what's missing in the Shine experience, because viewing it doesn't reveal anything in the way of a "weakness" in the movie sense.  Very simply, just about everything (acting, cinematography, etc.) is handled superbly in this film.  At the same time, however, the emotional impact that Helfgott's multi-layered tragedy of a life should have delivered never came through for me.  In a sense, this movie which contains a passionate story with passionate music and passionate performances, lacks passion.  Shine's brilliantly charged "Rach 3" concerto scene does indeed stand out as one of the best in recent memory, but a few memorable scenes cannot carry a film to greatness.  There's energy that's inherent in Helfgott's story, but it really doesn't come through on screen as consistently as it should.  Yes, I realize the beauty in a film that conveys its message with quiet subtlety rather than in-your-face emotional force, but for me Shine leans a bit too far on the "quiet subtlety" end of the spectrum.  Still, the music and the acting are wonderful in this film, and there are many elements here that are worth praise.  Don't set your expectations too high on this one and you should be fine...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

nolajay@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I have studied this movie for school. After pulling shine apart and analysing avery inch of the movie i can truly appreciate its greatness." (11/15/98)

mlad79c@prodigy.com gives this movie  stars: "As a fellow pianist, who has also tackled the Rach 3, I was totally enthralled with the movie, "Shine". I give it two thumbs up as a look into the life of a pianist prodigy. Although it is slow- moving in a few spots, I recommend it to anyone who is planning a major in piano. Bravo!" (3/18/98)

fuan2yun@mbox3.singnet.com.sg gives this movie  stars: "I just watched the movie on LD. It's the greatest pity I missed it on the big screen. Now I only hope David Helfgott will include Singapore in his World Tour schedule." (1/9/98)