Screenwriter Lee Hall and director Stephen Daldry make the movie entertaining without being too cute. Like all good child prodigy films, the child actor ( Jamie Bell) is excellent as a misunderstood kid who, in this case, just wants to dance. " Billy Elliot" (2000): This movie about an 11-year-old ballet prodigy in a coal mining town is pretty much perfect. Perhaps best of all, "Tenenbaums" seems crafted to make audiences feel really good about not being a child prodigy.ġ. The hilarious flashbacks are among the most entertaining scenes in the film, featuring an epic tennis meltdown by Richie Tenenbaum (Wilson) and attempts by Chas Tenenbaum (Stiller) to sell dalmatian mice to Japanese investors. "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001): Wes Anderson's best movie features three child prodigies - expertly played as adults by Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow. Young Max Pomeranc holds his own with Fishburne, Kingsley and Joan Allen all chewing up the screen.Ģ. "Searching for Bobby Fischer" (1993): This movie also was near the top of our "Best Alternative Sports Movies" list, and will no doubt appear in future columns featuring the "Best Movies With Josh Kornbluth in a Cameo" and "Best Movies Where Ben Kingsley Has Hair." "Searching" holds up quite well and features one of the better performances by a child actor in a prodigy film. (Rush won a best actor Oscar for his effort.) "Shine" was also singularly responsible for adding the words "Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. But the movie was well-written, and the three-headed performance by Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and Alex Rafalowicz - all playing Helfgott at different ages - was outstanding. "Shine" (1996): Speaking of child prodigy dramas where the facts are in dispute, there was controversy about accuracy after this biopic about pianist David Helfgott appeared in theaters.
Hiker slides 900 feet down perilous California mountain 'ice chute'Ĥ.At least six CVS locations in San Francisco to close in January.New California laws going into effect in 2022 include to-go cocktails extension, harsher penalties for wage theft.
The underdog story has feel-good qualities that probably hindered this film from being taken more seriously but add to its mainstream appeal. Salinger-style literary recluse and newcomer Rob Brown as a genius teen are excellent. "Finding Forrester" (2000): Shot mostly in the Bronx and Brooklyn, this underrated Gus Van Sant film is pretty awesome - and not just because Sean Connery says, "You're the man now, dog." The performances by Connery as a J.D. Child prodigy film regular Laurence Fishburne - who appeared in "Apocalypse Now" when he was just 15 - is Akeelah's coach.Ħ. This PG-rated movie, which was overlooked by many last year, is the best film on this list for kids to watch. "Akeelah and the Bee" (2006): Keke Palmer is wonderful as Akeelah, an 11-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles who competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Bonus child prodigy actor points: Adam Hann-Byrd, who played the gifted boy, later starred in "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later," featuring ax-murdering prodigy Michael Myers.ħ. Directed by and starring former child actress Jodie Foster, "Little Man Tate" is a bit slow at times, but it's still entertaining.
"Little Man Tate" (1991): Considering the lack of sex, violence and fava bean-eating serial killers, it's incredible that this movie about an 8-year-old genius got made. But the movie does a nice job of showing the artist's ability to create new kinds of music (the song "La Bamba" was an early form of the mash-up) and the effects of his sudden fame on his family and loved ones.Ĩ. And actor Lou Diamond Phillips, who played Valens, was 25 when the movie came out. "La Bamba" (1987): This biopic might have moved up a few spots if 16-year-old guitar phenom Ritchie Valens wasn't long in the tooth by child prodigy standards.