Shine Review
by Shane R. Burridge (S687070 AT iplabs DOT ins DOT gu DOT edu DOT au)November 13th, 1996
SHINE
A film review by Shane R. Burridge
Copyright 1996 Shane R. Burridge
Shine (1996) 104m.
True story of David Helfgott, a teenage pianist who won a scholarship to The London Royal College of Music, had a nervous breakdown, and returned home to Australia a forgotten recluse (although after the Australian release of this film, the public showed a renewed interest in him and he responded with a successful nationwide tour). Three actors play Helfgott - as a boy, a teenager, and an adult - but it's the latter performance by Geoffrey Rush that's most absorbing. How much time did Rush and scriptwriter Jan Sardi spend with the real-life Helfgott to capture his flustered, stream-of-consciousness speech so naturally? Rush's performance is such a powerhouse one (he doesn't use a hand double for the piano-playing sequences) that it's easy to overlook the similarly fine turns by his younger incarnations. And don't forget Scott Hicks' seamless directing job - it would be tempting for any director to use the tormented-genius premise as an excuse to go over the top, but Hicks keeps a tight rein on his story.
Emotional core of the film is harder to pin down - clearly it must be Helfgott himself, but since he has been repressed by his father (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a Polish Jew whose own father denied him access to a musical instrument, he's not given to emotion easily (until his wordless, memorable final scene on stage). Also it's kind of difficult to empathize with (a) mental instability, and (b) musical genius. The emotional focus of the story is instead directed toward Helfgott. Everyone he comes in contact with responds to him positively; everybody loves him - writer Katharine Prichard (Googie Withers), his mentor Cecil Parkes (John Gielgud, still going strong), his wife-to-be Gillian (Lynn Redgrave), and his family. Despite all the feel-good overtones, story never gets sappy, sentimental, or manipulative. Only point to consider after viewing is why no explanation is offered for the cause of Helfgott's dysfunction. Was it simply too much strain that led to a mental collapse? Were his problems impressed on him from the start by his obssessive father? Was it purely medical in cause? Or are we to be left with the assumption that genius goes hand-in-glove with it's own special madness? As the film doesn't say one thing or another about any of these possibilities it is the last one that might leave you with the strongest impression, and since the expression `shine' is never equated with Helfgott during the course of the film it's natural to assume that it refers to the light of his talent which burned too bright and too fast. Or perhaps he `shone' because his father was part Polish. I know, I know. I'm sorry... it was too hard to resist.
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