It's a story with a familiar theme: a musical genius persecuted by those who lack his talent. In this particular variation on Amadeus and Immortal Beloved, a gifted child thwarted in his creativity by the tyranny of his father overcomes many trials to fulfill the promise of his genius. The boy, of course, was David Helfgott, and anyone who watched Shine knows that he emerged from the depths of mental illness to become a great pianist. At long last, all that talent so cruelly frustrated has been channeled into the creation and performance of great music.
Or has it?
Helfgott is currently on a tour of the U.S. and has performed in many major cities, playing to packed houses in Boston and Los Angeles, among others, along with entertaining the crowd at the Oscars with 'Flight of the Bumblebee.' But the critics don't seem to adore him the way the public does - in fact, most of them have panned what they call his 'flawed and mindless playing of programs packed with worn-out repertory pieces.' True, it's not the first time the 'experts' have scoffed at something the average Joe Blow admires, but I wonder if there isn't something deeper behind the difference between the critical and public reactions.
I'm not a music critic (in fact, sometimes I suspect I may be tone-deaf) but I watched Helfgott's performance on Oscar night and I didn't have any feelings about his musical style one way or the other. Instead, my attention was caught by the way he reacted to the audience - almost like a child with stage fright. He dashed on to the stage and gazed out into the crowd with a wide, fixed smile on his face, then played his piece, repeated the vapid stare, then ran quickly offstage. A reporter described how at a concert the night after, 'the blissed out Helfgott made his mad dashes to and from the piano, bathed the hall with his baby-faced smile, crooned along with his own music, paused in its course now and them for some arm calisthenics...'
Pretty strong words, but they underline the difference between the general public and the music critics. The public comes to see the protagonist of Shine, the child-genius, the new incarnation of Forrest Gump. But the critics come to hear classical music and go away disappointed when all they see is physical comedy set to music. This isn't Helfgott's fault -- after all, he's being asked to live up an image portrayed in the movie of a superhuman that probably never existed.
The creators of this farce are Gillian, David's wife, and Scott Hicks, creator and self-appointed guardian of Helfgott's myth. Deny it as they will, Hicks and Gillian Helfgott are putting on a circus whose central act is a mentally-unstable 'genius.' They are the chief exploiters of Helfgott, but not the only ones.
The people who fill the halls come not to hear his music but to gawk at the spectacle of this man-child working through his insecurity and confusion. To them, it's just one more freak show, one more talk-show spectacle in a country where poking through other people's emotional baggage is considered great sport. It's a sad commentary on our society that the music is a sideshow because Helfgott himself is the attraction - the newest lovable fool, exploited by his immediate friends for popularity and by the rest of us for entertainment.
