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
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