Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Scott Hicks, Umbrella Entertainment.
Triumph follows adversity and that was certainly the case with Australian gifted pianist David Helfgott. He suffered a mental breakdown, due to trauma inflicted upon him by his abusive father, and spent years in institutions.
Geoffrey Rush (Shakespeare in Love, Quills, The King’s Speech) played the lead role in Shine for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor. The 1996 Australian biographical drama film was based on his life.
He struggled through childhood as his dysfunctional father abused him and his siblings. However, Helfgott managed to make his mark as a legend.
Watching this film one can’t help but wonder about how the human spirit heals itself.
David’s story tugs at the heartstrings as you see him wandering aimlessly, with chatter that’s excessive, picking on words that look to unacceptable associations. He appears genial, while laughing a lot.
On the other hand, when he sits at a piano, at first he looks anxious, but no sooner does he start to play … his music is spellbinding, swamping you with its cry of grief, pain and optimism. David’s piano playing is, at first, a skill that comes naturally to him; only later does it become an art, a way of self-expression.
Three actors play Helfgott with Alex Rafalowicz as young David, encouraged to excel at music and chess. Noah Taylor (Flirting) plays the adolescent David, who blossoms at the piano, but is forbidden by his father to accept a scholarship offered by violin great Isaac Stern. Rush plays David as an adult who goes mad and then slowly heals with the help of an understanding woman.
Armin Mueller-Stahl plays David’s father, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust but lost most of his family. Resettled in Australia, he places family above everything else.
David finds friendship and support from an old woman (Googie Withers), who encourages his music and helps him find the courage to go to London, where he’s happy for a time with his tutor Cecil Parkes played by Sir John Gielgud. His key helper is Gillian (Lynn Redgrave), who meets him through a friend, and it’s their love that’s his saviour.
The screenplay was written by Jan Sardi, and directed by Scott Hicks in such a way that it enhances the significance to the film’s title.
This 20th anniversary DVD includes special features on Rush, Hicks and composer David Hirschfelder.
