Shine

Shine follows David Helfgott, an Australian pianist of exceptional talent whose childhood is dominated by his overbearing father, Peter, who refuses to let him leave home to study abroad. David eventually defies him and travels to London to train at a prestigious music school, but the pressure he has carried since boyhood overwhelms him, and he suffers a breakdown that costs him more than a decade of his life. A later meeting with a woman named Gillian helps bring stability to his life, and he gradually returns to performing, winning over audiences even where critics remain doubtful.

The film is a dramatisation of a real life, made in Australia and the United Kingdom with BBC Film, Film Victoria, the South Australian Film Corporation and Fine Line Features among its backers. Scott Hicks directed from a screenplay by Jan Sardi, with Jane Scott producing. Geoffrey Rush plays the adult David and Noah Taylor the adolescent; Armin Mueller-Stahl is Peter, while Lynn Redgrave, Googie Withers and Sonia Todd appear in supporting roles. It was the first of six features Hicks has directed, ahead of Snow Falling on Cedars, Hearts in Atlantis, No Reservations, The Lucky One and Fallen.

Made for about 6 million dollars, it took roughly 36 million worldwide, a strong return for a drama of its scale. On IMDb it holds 7.6 from around 59,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 from a much smaller handful. A critics' score of 8 out of 10 from 43 reviews puts it level with, or slightly above, the audience ratings.