Shine

Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud
Directed by: Scott Hicks
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A pianist (Geoffrey Rush) suffers a mental breakdown, threatening his ability and his career.

Review:

Tim: I did not like Shine nearly as much as I thought I would. The film was mostly average throughout, but it's really saved by two performances- those of Geoffrey Rush and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Their performances elevate this film and save it from a much worse fate.

The story here is a little lackluster and I found it slightly difficult to follow. That's not due to anything nifty the filmmakers did, the story just unfolds poorly. I never knew why I should have cared about anything happening on screen. We see a young boy who wants to be a pianist- and trust me, those scenes where his father holds him back are heartbreaking. But then, we jump ahead, and the film loses some momentum. Towards the end, we get some of the best acting of the film, but we've lost why we should care. The movie was mostly average, which surprised me.

The film felt very long, even though it only clocked in at 105 minutes. Director Scott Hicks just doesn't put enough compelling pieces on screen to hold our interest. I think Hicks has some real talent as a director, but his approach was just off on this film. He didn't squeeze out as much as he needed to with this film- there was wasted potential here. That being said, this movie is somewhat controversial because the facts depicted in this film aren't necessarily the gospel truth- I haven't researched enough to know how accurate this film is, but it did seem like they took some big liberties with this "true" story. I'm not sure how I feel about that, because the story presented wasn't exactly the most compelling I've ever heard. I can't imagine how lackluster this story would be if it followed real life 100%.

What saves this film from a much worse fate are the two lead actors. Geoffrey Rush was pretty astounding in a strange, manic, high-energy performance. I didn't exactly understand what he was portraying, but I was slightly mesmerized by what he did. He certainly acted quite well. It's not surprising that he won the film's only Academy Award, for Best Actor. It was not exactly a career-defining performance, but it was different and memorable. I thought he was slightly overshadowed by Armin Mueller-Stahl, who gave the best performance of the film. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but he did not win. Mueller-Stahl had a tough assignment, bringing to life this overbearing, selfish, occasionally horrific man. That's something many people could do- what Mueller-Stahl accomplishes is making him seem more than one-dimensional. He might be a horrible person, but a lot of what he does is out of a misguided love for family. He's a fascinating character, because you hate him for his actions, while you understand and can relate to the initial motivations for his actions. His own selfishness and lack of self-awareness lead him to push away the very people he's trying to hold closest to him. He gives an exceptional performance, and it was my favorite of the film.

I'm actually quite shocked that Shine received all the accolades it did. The film was nominated for Best Picture, which I will never understand. I thought this was a mostly average film saved by two particularly strong performances. I'm sure there are big fans out there, but I never got into the story once we moved to the adult phase. I personally am not a huge fan of this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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