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Shine (film)

Shine is a 1996 Australian 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, Chris Haywood, and Alex Rafalowicz. The screenplay was written by Jan Sardi, and Scott Hicks directed the film. The degree to which the film's plot reflects the true story of Helfgott's life is disputed (see below).

Plot

Shine begins as we see an apparently lost man finding his way into a restaurant. The man has some sort of mental disability and we find out his name is David Helfgott, played by Geoffrey Rush. The movie then cuts back to his childhood, where the viewer sees David perform in a music competition. Helfgott's father, Peter(played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) watches as David loses the competition. David's father seems to be a cruel and harsh man.

The movie then shows David as a teenager (played by Noah Taylor). David wins the state musical championship and is invited to study in America but is forbidden by his father to leave. David's talent grows until he is offered a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, England. David's father again forbids him to go but David leaves and as a consequence his father disowns him.

In London, David enters a Concerto competition choosing to play Rachmaninoff's 3rd Concerto. As David practices he changes becoming more and more manic. During David's performance he suffers a mental breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital where he receives electric shock therapy.

After David's initial institutionalization he tries to return home, but his father still rejects him. David is admitted again to a mental institution where he spends considerable time. Eventually we see David as an adult taken home by one of the workers at the mental institution. This worker remembers him from before he suffered his breakdown. The worker recognizes that David needs more care than they can offer and David finds himself in a hostel, wandering the streets. At this point we enter where the movie began.

At the restaurant they are astounded by his ability to play the piano and one of the owners befriends David and looks after him. In return David plays at the restaurant. It's through the owner that David is introduced to Gillian (played by Lynne Redgrave). David and Gillian fall in love and marry. Through Gillian's help David readies himself for a comeback concert at which he is given a standing ovation.

Awards

Shine won the Academy Award for Best Actor (Geoffrey Rush), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Armin Mueller-Stahl), Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It also won a BAFTA for best actor, a Golden Globe for best actor and nine AFIs.

Title

The film's title Shine connotes David's brightness while coming from a history of darkness. Several previous alternate titles included "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Helfgott".

Criticism

The movie has attracted reproach on two main grounds:

Margaret Helfgott's book

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 particularly 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. Helfgott's mother might agree; on seeing Shine, she said she thought that a great evil had been done. 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.

Scott Hicks published a letter to the Wall Street Journal when Margaret Helfgott’s book first came out. The following are excerpts from Hicks' response to the reviewer for the Wall Street Journal August 27, 1998:

Australian writer John Macgregor did much of the research for Shine, and wrote its 'treatments' (versions of the story preceding the actual scripts).

In the midst of the controversy, his letter to The Australian was published in November 1996:

Pianistic ability

Critics also claim that Helfgott's pianistic ability is grossly exaggerated. In a journal article, the New Zealand philosopher Denis Dutton speaks for many critics who claim that Helfgott's piano playing during his comeback in the last decade 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. Despite being widely panned by professional piano critics, 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 drawing deserved public attention away from pianists who are more talented and disciplined.

Others point out that the point of Shine was not Helfgott's technical ability but his ability to continue playing at all given the plethora of external and internal factors stacked against him. It has moreover been pointed out that the early career triumphs documented by the film are factual.

Music

Music credits

WITH A GIRL LIKE YOU
Written by Reg Presley, © 1966 Dick James Music Limited
Performed by the Troggs, (P) 1966 Mercury Limited
WHY DO THEY DOUBT OUR LOVE
Written and performed by Johnny O'Keef
© 1959 Victoria Music / MCA Music Australia Pty Ltd, (P) 1959 Festival Records Pty Ltd
POLONAISE in A flat major, Opus 53
Composed by Frederic Chopin, Performed by Ricky Edwards
FAST ZU ERNST - SCENES FROM CHILDHOOD oPUS 15
composed by Robert Schumann, Performed by Wilhelm Kempff
(P) 1973 Polydore International GmbH Hamburg
LA CAMPANELLA
From Violin Concerto in B minor by Niccolo Paganini
Transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt, Performed by David Helfgott
HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY No. 2 in C sharp minor
Composed by Franz Liszt, Performed by David Helfgott
FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE
Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff
Arranged by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Performed by David Helfgott
GLORIA, rv 589
Composed by Anotonio Vivaldi, Arranged by David Hirschfelder and Ricky Edwards
© PolyGram Music Publishing / Mushroom Music
SOSPIRO
Composed by Franz Liszt, Performed by David Helfgott
NULLA IN MUNDO PAX SINCERA
Composed by Anotonio Vivaldi, Arranged by David Hirschfelder and Ricky Edwards
© PolyGram Music Publishing / Mushroom Music
Performed by Jane Edwards (Soprano)
Geoffrey Lancaster (Harpsichord) and Gerald Keuneman (Cello)
DAISY BELL
composed by Harry Dacre
Arranged and Performed by Ricky Edwards, © Mushroom Music
FUNICULÌ, FUNICULÀ
Composed by Luigi Denze, Arranged by David Hirschfelder and Ricky Edwards
© PolyGram Music Publishing / Mushroom Music
PIANO CONCERTO No. 3 in D minor Opus 30
Composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Arranged by David Hirschfelder
Performed by David Helfgott, © PolyGram Music Publishing
PRELUDE in C sharp minor Opus 3, No. 2
Composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Performed by David Helfgott, (P) 1994 RAP Productions, Denmark
SYMPHONY No.9 in D minor Opus 125
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven,Arranged by David Hirschfelder and Ricky Edwards
© PolyGram Music Publishing / Mushroom Music
APPASSIONATA SONATA, No.23 in F minor Opus 57
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, Performed by Ricky Edwards