Just when it seemed that there couldn’t possibly be room for another documentary in American theaters, especially a good one, Hollywood surprised us. “Shine,” the story of Australian pianist David Helfgott, is by far the most entertaining, intelligent, and inspiring film of the recent rash of documentary-ish movies that includes “Evita,” “Prefontaine,” and “Michael Collins.”
The most striking difference between “Shine” and the three others I mention is that it is a relatively happy film. While the other three all have their inspiring moments, they all end in sadness. The only tears “Shine” will give you, though, are those of happiness.
Geoffrey Rush, playing the adult Helfgott, is only one of the many brilliant aspects of this film. Psychologically disturbed characters are probably the most difficult to play convincingly and sympathetically, but Rush does so with an apparent ease that makes his Academy Award nomination for the role well deserved.
Another Oscar nominee, Armin Mueller-Stahl, is the second bright spot in this film. Playing Peter Helfgott, David’s dad, Mueller-Stahl is positively terrifying. While there has been some controversy as to how accurate his portrayal is, it is fantastic regardless.
The issue of emotionally and physically abusive parents seems to come up every other week in a made-for-TV movie, but “Shine” takes the issue seriously, and it pays off.
One more of many standout performances in this movie is that of Noah Taylor, who played the adolescent David. His role is just as challenging as Rush’s, but the younger actor handles it just as well. One of the climaxes of the film is his performance of an extremely difficult piano piece, which is filmed and acted as well as anything I’ve ever seen.
Much like “Prefontaine,” “Shine” is at times difficult to accept as a true documentary. David Helfgott’s life is one of those that seemed destined to portrayal in Hollywood, because it is so dramatic without any embellishment. But it is this that made the movie so difficult to execute and so satisfying to watch.
Since movie characters are so often mere caricatures of real life, and not always multi-dimensional, to take actual people and try to portray every aspect of their existence is a challenge not always faced, and more rarely met. “Shine” does this beautifully.
“Shine” is one of those movies that you can see more than once (if not several times). I’ve already seen it twice and planning to go again. And I would recommend the film to anyone. As far as I can tell, it would be nearly impossible to set expectations for this movie that it won’t meet, and surpass.
Grade: A+