Shine (film)

Shine is a 1996 Australian biographical drama film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Nicholas Bell, Chris Haywood and Alex Rafalowicz. The screenplay was written by Jan Sardi, and directed by Scott Hicks. The film made its US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1997, Geoffrey Rush was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 69th Academy Awards for his performance in the lead role.

Plot
A man (Geoffrey Rush) wanders through a heavy rainstorm finding his way into a restaurant. The restaurant's employees try to determine if he needs help. Despite his manic mode of speech being difficult to understand, Sylvia learns that his name is David Helfgott and that he is staying at a local hotel. She returns him to the hotel, and despite his attempts to engage her with his musical knowledge and ownership of various musical scores, she leaves.

As a child, David (played by Alex Rafalowicz) is growing up in suburban Adelaide, South Australia and competing in a local music competition. Helfgott has been taught to play by his father, Peter (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl), a man obsessed with winning who has no tolerance for failure or disobedience. David is noticed by Mr. Rosen, a local pianist who, after an initial conflict with Peter, takes over David's musical instruction.

As a teen, David (played by Noah Taylor) wins the state musical championship and is invited to study in United States. Although plans are made to raise money to send David and his family is initially supportive, Peter eventually forbids David to leave and abuses him, thinking David leaving would destroy the family. Crushed, David continues to study and befriends local novelist and co-founder of the Communist Party of Australia, Katharine Susannah Prichard (Googie Withers). David's talent grows until he is offered a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. David's father again forbids him to go, but with the encouragement of Katharine, David leaves. In London, David studies under Dr. Cecil Parkes (John Gielgud) and enters a Concerto competition, choosing to play Rachmaninoff's enormously demanding 3rd Concerto, a piece he had attempted to learn as a young child to make his father proud. As David practices, he increasingly becomes manic in his behavior. David wins the competition, but suffers a mental breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he receives electric shock therapy.

David recovers to the point where he is able to return to Australia, but is still rejected by his father. David relapses and is readmitted to a mental institution as a young man. Years later, a volunteer at the institution recognizes David and knows of his musical talent. She takes him home but discovers that he is difficult to control, unintentionally destructive, and needs more care than she can offer. She leaves him at the hotel from earlier in the film. David has difficulty adjusting to life in broader society again, and often leaves the hotel to stimulate his interests. David wanders to the nearby restaurant.

The next day David returns to the restaurant, and the patrons are astounded by his ability to play the piano. One of the owners befriends David and looks after him. In return David plays at the restaurant. Through the owner David is introduced to Gillian (Lynn Redgrave). David and Gillian fall in love and marry. With Gillian's help and support, David is able to come to terms with his father's death and to stage a well-received comeback concert, presaging his return to professional music.

Cast



 * Geoffrey Rush as David Helfgott
 * Justin Braine as Tony
 * Sonia Todd as Sylvia
 * Chris Haywood as Sam
 * Alex Rafalowicz as David Helfgott - Child
 * Gordon Poole as Eisteddfod Presenter
 * Armin Mueller-Stahl as Peter
 * Nicholas Bell as Ben Rosen
 * Danielle Cox as Suzie - Child
 * Rebecca Gooden as Margaret
 * Marta Kaczmarek as Rachel
 * John Cousins as Jim Minogue
 * Noah Taylor as David Helfgott - Adolescent
 * Randall Berger as Isaac Stern
 * Googie Withers as Katharine Susannah Prichard
 * John Gielgud as Cecil Parkes
 * David King as Viney
 * Robert Hands as Robert
 * Marc Warren as Ray
 * Neil Thomson as RCOM Conductor
 * Joey Kennedy as Suzie - Adult
 * Beverley Dunn as Beryl Alcott
 * Lynn Redgrave as Gillian
 * Ella Scott Lynch as Jessica

Production
Geoffrey Rush resumed piano lessons—suspended when he was 14—in order not to require a hand double.

Release
Shine grossed $35,892,330 in the United States and Canada. The film also grossed $10,187,418 at the box office in Australia.

Home media
Roadshow Entertainment released the film on VHS on 4 July 1996, and on DVD on 18 November 1997. Umbrella Entertainment released the film on the 20th anniversary DVD in May 5 2015.

Reception
Shine was met with acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 91% approval rating based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The critical consensus states, "featuring a strong performance from Geoffrey Rush, Shine succeeds in telling a compelling, inspirational story without resorting to cheap sentimentality." On Metacritic, the film holds a 87 rating out of a possible 100 from 27 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Critic Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars, stating "There has been much talk in 1996 about films whose filmmakers claim they were based on true stories but were kidding (Fargo), and films whose filmmakers claimed they were based on true stories but might have been lying (Sleepers). Here is a movie that is based on the truth beneath a true story."

Historical accuracy
Critics allege that certain events and relationships in David's life are portrayed with wild inaccuracy, sometimes even fabricated, resulting in damage to the reputations of real people. Helfgott's sister Margaret Helfgott, in her book Out of Tune, stresses in particular the case of Helfgott's father Peter Helfgott, who was, according to her, a loving husband, over-lenient parent and very far from the abusive tyrant portrayed in Shine. Peter Helfgott's decision to prevent David from going overseas at the age of 14 was not made with the vindictive spirit portrayed in Shine, she claims, but a reasonable judgment that he was not ready for such independence. Margaret Helfgott further claims to have been pressured by David's second wife Gillian and by the publishers of the film to stop making trouble for them by telling her story. Although Margaret Helfgott has possession of letters between Helfgott and his father, the copyright is held by Gillian Helfgott who has prevented their contents from being published.

Margaret Helfgott's criticisms have been disputed by people involved with making the film. Scott Hicks published a letter to The Wall Street Journal when Margaret Helfgott's book came out, defending the authenticity of the movie's portrayal of Helfgott's childhood and suggesting that David's other siblings, Susie and Les, were at odds with Margaret's claims and were happy with the movie. John Macgregor—who was involved in the research and wrote the treatments for Shine—wrote, in a letter to The Australian, that the portrayal of the Helfgotts' father was supported not only by David's 'elephantine' recollections, but (with the exception of Margaret) by every family member and family friend he and Scott Hicks interviewed, as well as by every interviewee who had a professional or musical connection with David throughout his early life. However, David's brother Les has described the portrayal of their father in both Shine and in Gillian Helfgott's biography as "all outright lies". David Helfgott's first wife Clare Papp has also said that Peter Helfgott was "quite badly maligned" in the film. In a letter to the editor of Limelight magazine, published in the September 2013 edition, Margaret and Les Helfgott refer to certain claims made in an article in the August 2013 edition and state that "there was no estrangement from members of David's family following his return to Australia. On the contrary, he moved straight back into the family home, and was cared for by our family. Dad was not 'overbearing', and his main objection to David's going abroad was his concern for his son's welfare."

Helfgott's mother said the film haunted her and that she felt "an evil had been done".

Pianistic ability
Critics also claim that Helfgott's pianistic ability is grossly exaggerated. In a journal article, the New Zealand philosopher Denis Dutton claims that Helfgott's piano playing during his comeback in the latter part of the 1990s has "severe technical and aesthetic deficiencies which would be unacceptable in any musician whose reputation had not been inflated beyond recognition". Dutton claims that, while listening to the movie, he covered his eyes during the parts where Helfgott's playing was used in order to concentrate entirely on the music, and not be distracted by the acting. He felt that the musicianship, when perceived in isolation, was not of a particularly high standard. Helfgott's recent tours have been well attended because, according to Dutton, Shine's irresponsible glamorisation of Helfgott's ability has attracted a new audience who are not deeply involved in the sound of Helfgott's playing, thereby, he says, drawing deserved public attention away from pianists who are more talented and disciplined.

The early career triumphs documented by the film are factual. Violin virtuoso Isaac Stern wanted to bring Helfgott to the US to mentor; conductor Daniel Barenboim was a great admirer; and Helfgott's Royal College of Music tutors did indeed praise his playing in such terms as "sheer genius". But the film's makers have pointed out that critics of Helfgott's present-day technical ability are missing the point – which is not that Helfgott is now one of the world's great pianists (a claim that has never been made), but that the love of his wife enabled him to sufficiently recover from a long and bitter struggle with mental illness to play again for audiences.

Soundtrack

 * 1) "With a Girl Like You" (Reg Presley) – The Troggs
 * 2) "Why Do They Doubt Our Love" written & perf by Johnny O'Keefe
 * 3) Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53 (Frédéric Chopin) – Ricky Edwards
 * 4) "Fast zu Ernst" – Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 (Robert Schumann) – Wilhelm Kempff
 * 5) La Campanella (Franz Liszt) – David Helfgott
 * 6) Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor (Liszt) – David Helfgott
 * 7) "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) – David Helfgott
 * 8) Gloria, RV 589 (Antonio Vivaldi)
 * 9) "Un sospiro" (Liszt) – David Helfgott
 * 10) "Nulla in mundo pax sincera" Vivaldi – Jane Edwards (vocals), Geoffrey Lancaster (harpsichord), Gerald Keuneman (cello)
 * 11) "Daisy Bell" (Harry Dacre) – Ricky Edwards
 * 12) "Funiculi, Funicula" (Luigi Denza)
 * 13) Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (Sergei Rachmaninoff) – David Helfgott
 * 14) Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) – David Helfgott
 * 15) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Ludwig van Beethoven)
 * 16) Sonata No. 23 in F minor, "Appassionata", Op. 57 (Beethoven) – Ricky Edwards
 * 17) Prelude in D flat major, "Raindrop", Op. 28, No. 15 (Chopin)