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Back in the 50s, David (Alex Rafalowicz) is taught by his father Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Despite Peter's lack of musical training, David's natural ability allows him to mostly overcome this disadvantage. However, there are still flaws and bad habits in his playing, which means that he fails to win a local competition. He is good enough to catch the eye of one of the judges though, Ben Rosen (Nicholas Bell), a music teacher. By making the case for David's future, Ben manages to get permission to teach him, a tricky task even though he's offering his services for free. Peter has no wish to let anyone else control David, especially when he's grooming him for an extra special piece, but he's left without a choice. With the help of Ben, David's playing soon comes on in leaps and bounds.
By the time he reaches adolescence, David (Noah Taylor) regularly wins prizes and exhibits his virtuoso skills. This is a source of great pride to Peter, who counts David's accomplishments as his own, but the big question is how far can he go? As far as Ben is concerned, David's victory in the State championships shows that he could be amongst the world's best. However, it's purely by chance that David's dream comes true, when he is offered a place at a prestigious American college, as long as he can raise the necessary funds. Peter isn't keen on the idea of David leaving though, and even less so on Ben's suggestion of holding a bar mitzvah (since he regards religion as good for nothing). While raising money, David meets Katharine Susannah Prichard (Googie Withers), an elderly writer who takes an interest in him. As the first substantial adult role-model to come into his life (outside of home), David comes to believe that he really will make it to the States. Unfortunately, his father decides to absolutely forbid this, bringing everything to a crashing halt.
By taking on the real-life tale of pianist David Helfgott, Shine is destined to walk the fine line of remaining true to the person while entertaining the viewer. Fortunately, by weaving together distinct periods of David's existence in a non-linear fashion, a complex and compelling portrait of the tortured artist is drawn. From birth, the dominant guiding force is his father Peter, himself subject to personal demons. Over the family hang shadows of wartime Europe and the dreadful losses endured by David's parents, leaving behind the desperate urge not to lose what family they have and to prove that they are winners. These concerns are scarcely voiced though, instead being made obvious through implication and action. The over-riding virtue of spending all of this time on background is that everything following on makes sense, even when the outcome is a complete nervous breakdown.
The performances (Mueller-Stahl, Rafalowicz and Taylor) which lay down these emotional foundations are all excellent, while the end result is brilliantly portrayed by Rush. Working from both ends of his life, separated by two decades of madness, Rafalowicz/Taylor and Rush manage the difficult task of making the character of David consistent (always shy and fragile) yet different in his behaviour. As a child, there is both a deep affection for Peter and a hesitation, a Pavlovian reaction to his father's volatile moods. As a man, David reaches the pinnacle of his career and (with nowhere else to go) falls off. Rush imbues the role with a mass of neuroses yet keeps them under such strict control that they never overwhelm David's essential humanity. Mueller-Stahl is quite superb as both monster and protector, deserving of pity even as he destroys the very family structure he wanted to save. Finally, a special mention is deserved by John Gielgud (playing Cecil Parkes) for the light and energy he brings as David's transforming tutor.
While Shine is exceptionally unflinching in it's detailing of mental overload, its coverage of the emotional landscape is much more uneven. In the first half (David's childhood) the general tone is suppressed, making it difficult to bond with the characters. While this may be intentional, as a symbol of Peter's repression and David's immaturity, the film doesn't become involving until the second half. Here music takes over, especially in the climatic performance of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto (the "Rach 3"), opening a window upon David's soul. By the final triumphant return to the stage, the identification with David is total, while the disappointment is that Shine couldn't have achieved this unification earlier. On the technical side, the soundtrack is (as might be expected) tremendous, while the film includes some terrific visual markers (David's fixation with water stands out here, together with the subtle Holocaust reflections). Shine leaves too much unanswered to be an unqualified success but it sure makes you feel for David.
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