Monday, September 04, 2017

Sing Street (2016) ***1/2



More than any working filmmaker I know of, writer/director John Carney makes films that are love letters to music, and specifically songwriting. In “Once”, “Begin Again”, and now “Sing Street”, Carney lets us in on the process as his characters write and perform original songs. The results can be a little uneven in terms of storytelling, but absolutely enjoyable musically.

In “Sing Street”, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo plays Conor, a disaffected, Irish schoolboy who plays music to distract himself from his parents' constant bickering. With the crappy 1980's Irish economy, the family has to tighten its belt, so Conor has to switch to a cheaper school. Fitting in at the new, more working-class school is tough. Plus, there's a girl Conor would like to impress, so he does the only logical thing: he forms a band.

Conor and his band of misfits are a bit rough around the edges, but they possess a young, punk energy and Conor's talent for songwriting. Armed with some good advice from Conor's older brother, Brendan (Jack Reynor) (“You don't need to know how to play. Who are you, Steely Dan?”), they set to work making music videos, which is the perfect excuse for Conor to get to know Raphina (Lucy Boynton). Every music video needs a pretty girl, and Raphina is a stone fox. She's also a complicated girl. Conor works on wooing her as he and the band work their way through a variety of 80's musical and sartorial styles, trying on everything from Duran Duran to The Cure.

As his filmmaking career has progressed, John Carney has taken a greater hand in writing the songs for his films. The songs in “Once” were written by his stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, whom you may remember won an Oscar. In “Begin Again,” Carney himself gets a couple of co-writing credits, and for “Sing Street” Carney contributed to almost all of the original tunes. They are surprisingly good songs for what is essentially '80s pastiche.

Unless you are a 15-year-old boy trying to decide whether or not to start a band (Do it!), “Sing Street” isn't going to change your life. Little effort is wasted on a believable plot or on character development. The point of this film is the music, and between the original songs and the '80s classics, it is guaranteed to make you feel good.


3.5 stars out of 5

No comments: