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Shine Reviews
The film is touching and authentic. It shows how toxic parenting can destroy children's entire lives.
Despite a slightly slow start, the last 2/3 of the film is incredible. A really heartwarming true-story filled with emotion.
Brilliant performance by Geoffrey Rush, good sound mixing and some well shot scenes. It just didn't engage me as much especially in the third act.
A decent enough film, questionable as to the extent to which it reflects true events. I'm unconvinced it's gripping enough to be a Best Picture nominee but it was an ok watch, especially early on, with shades of Whiplash about it. I watched on DVD as it has largely been forgotten elsewhere.
Solid biopic with a great performance by Geoffrey Rush.
One of my favorite movies during my teenage years, especially between 16 and 18. It inspired me a lot and led me to the discovery of Rachmaninoff's music.
A classic that you can always watch
'SHINE' IS AT THE TOP OF BEST FILMS ABOUT PRODIGY CHILD & DOMINEERING FATHER, CAUSING OPPRESSION & SUPPRESSION ISSUES IN THE GENIUS CHILD, EVENTUALLY CAUSING A BREAKDOWN ....AND THEN HIS ENGAGING( BEING A GEMINI & MARRYING A FAB SAG), COMPASSIONATE & AMAZING COMEBACK TO THE TOP....A MUST SEE....LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!! PEOPLE ARE SAYING HE IS AUTISTIC OR SCHIZOPHRENIC BUT, I SAY NO. I SAY HE WAS A VERY BRIGHT, TALENTED & SENSITIVE CHILD WHO WAS ABUSED....POSSIBLY WITH ASPERGERS SYNDROME (IT CAUSES SHYNESS & SOCIAL FEARS WHILE BEING BRILLIANT) IF ANY CONDITION WHICH CAUSED THE BREAKDOWN FROM YEARS OF PRESSURE UPON HIM. A MUST SEE!! BRAVO!!
Best acting performance from Geoffrey Rush!
Shoutout to the makeup artist for tricking me into thinking that a mustachioed and near-unrecognizable Armin Mueller-Stahl was actually Walter Matthau putting on a Polish accent. Shine is a balancing act between Oscar-bait tropes and sincere filmmaking, at times coming across as overwrought and excessive (this was the era in which depictions of mentally impaired or handicapped individuals were prime targets for awards season), but usually pulled back by strong performances and good pacing. Rush received the attention from the critics as a result of taking on Helfgott's character at his most eccentric, but Noah Taylor makes a perfect complement to Rush's excess (which can be, well, excessive, especially compared to the actual record of his true-to-life counterpart, and Mueller-Stahl gives one of his typically strong performances, with a sense of restrained energy and passion. It's his role that forms the backbone of the film, really; giving the main character a sincere reason for his condition was vital, and Mueller-Stahl's father figure at once brimming with love and care but also authoritarianism and misguided stubbornness feels chillingly genuine. While the end product is solid enough from a narrative perspective, what keeps nagging at me is the sensation that the film was made for critics rather than audiences, going down a checklist of necessary components to ensure a few international nominations. Well-regarded cast; check. Protagonist with a tragic but ultimately uplifting arc; check. Lead actor given the opportunity to take on a character with an unusual personality trait or two to show off his range; check. Parental abuse (told in a compelling and realistic way, certainly, but parental abuse nonetheless); check. At times, the plot seems designed to give Rush more time to act odd in front of a camera than to tell a complete and well-designed story, but the narrative is still mostly there, and enjoyable. Oscar bait? Probably. Still decent? Yes. (3/5)
A compelling story, and Geoffrey Rush's performance is insurmountable brilliance! A tough act to follow and compete with. He is charming, heartbreaking, and hilarious.
Based on a true story of a highly gifted son and his overbearing, controlling father. From his childhood, David is a talented pianist. As a youth, he is called a "musical genius, and is offered scholarships to study abroad, but his father refuses to let him go, saying it will destroy their family. David defies his father and accepts a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in England. He leaves his native Australia and starts his studies there. After a brilliant performance of the Rach 3 (if you don't know what that is, I didn't either, but the movie will reveal it to you), David has a nervous breakdown. What happens next is sad, then remarkable.
If you're looking for a fantastic film about an eccentric, self-imploding, mentally unstable, real-life musician, check out The Devil & Daniel Johnston. Based on its reputation, I thought the Rush performance might be entertaining & impressive enough to make Shine engaging; and while he's good, he's really not in it much, the movie focusing more on the daddy-issue flashbacks, a character motivation that is among the most boring & cliched ever. A consistently eye-rolling clock-watcher.
La vida de un prodigioso pianista Australiano llamado David Helfgott (Geoffrey Rush) que sufre un colapso nervioso y poco a poco gracias a la comprensión de una mujer va intentando gradualmente de ser "funcional" en éste complicado mundo. La película está dividida en 3 etapas de la vida de David y en cada una vemos cómo su talento y sus emociones no son compatibles gracias a sus experiencias cuando debería ser todo lo contrario. Ésta es una película motivante, hermosa, llena de matices, sentimientos y emociones tan poderosos cómo sugiere el concierto No. 3 de Rachmaninoff, pieza fundamental de éste filme. Basada en un caso real, y al parecer fiel en cuanto a la representación de los hechos; ésta es una película maravillosa por parte del director Scott Hicks que sin duda todo se lo debe al profesionalismo del gran Geoffrey Rush.
Rush is fantastic and the film is really good.
The biopic generally requires a figure with an immense amount of talent to face a traumatic childhood which leaves them mentally unstable as an adult before being saved by the love of a good woman. See Walk the Line (2005), Bound for Glory (1976) and this Australian film which managed to earn a Best Picture nomination and a Best Actor Academy Award for star Geoffrey Rush. I must admit that while film is an effective emotional study of the impact that David Helfgott's overbearing father had on him it falls into feeling like misery porn far too often and it's various segments do not necessarily add up to a satisfying whole. Talented young piano prodigy David Helfgott, Geoffrey Rush, is abused by his father Peter, Armin Mueller-Stahl, who attempts to live through his son and places far too much pressure on him. Helfgott is discovered by piano teacher Ben Rosen, Nicholas Bell, at a competition and with his aid begins to win more competitions. As a teenager he receives several musical scholarships but his father fears letting go of him and prevents him from accepting several of them. After receiving finances from close friend Katharine Susannah Pritchard, Googie Withers, he musters up the courage to accept a scholarship but his father tells him he will never be accepted by his family again. With a huge amount of effort he performs Rachmaninoff in a showcase at his posh school in London but has a breakdown and receives electroshock treatment. In his later years he is cared for by nurses and attempts to reconcile with his family but ultimately finds rehabilitation through his relationship with Gillian, Lynn Redgrave. For anybody who has ever seen a biopic this will offer nothing new but what the film benefits from is the fine performances from Mueller-Stahl, Rush and Noah Taylor as the teenage version of Helfgott. It must be said that Rush's Best Actor win was a case of category fraud as he is definitely not the lead in this film and if any of the actors should have been nominated for their portrayal of Helfgott it is Taylor. The role does feel rather ‘oscar-baity' as Helfgott has to endure a lot of abuse, develops tics and is a little unusual and misunderstood but at least Rush commits to going the Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988) route. They tap into the fear and isolation that a traumatized person feels and the sweetness and idiosyncrasies of Helfgott are brought to life by Taylor in particular. Mueller-Stahl is chilling as the overbearing father who channels his own unfulfilled ambitions into his innocent son. Redgrave gets little do as she plays the typical supportive woman who is there to deal with her husband's issues and express minor distress when he goes too far. I wasn't moved to tears by any of their work but they did raise this film above Walk the Line or any number of similarly themed films based on the lives of real musicians. Where the film loses it's way is in the segmented nature of the film as it can feel as though we are not watching the same progress though life but three dramatically different men. As a child we get a sympathetic, kind young piano prodigy who greatly fears his father and has an incredible desire to succeed and make him proud. As a teenager he still has some of those elements but some of the connective tissue is missing as Taylor is so much more lively and animated than the child was and seems like a completely different person. Obviously Rush plays Helfgott after electroshock treatment and so you expect him to be different but even then it is hard to believe that he and Taylor are the same man. Maybe this was the point that the filmmakers were trying to make but the film certainly is not as successful as Atonement (2007) in showing how a certain period in time can affect a person throughout their life. I really don't believe that this film should have been nominated for Best Picture as The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Walking and Talking (1996) present far better alternatives but for the crowd who enjoy this sort of film it should satisfy their needs.
It is the best film ever made.