Greetings,
Anyone who knows my taste in movie endings knows that I am open to anything. Happy endings, sad endings, ambiguous ending, occasionally 'What in the heck was that?' endings, I've enjoyed them all. As long as they also feel real. And I've found a writer/director who seems to have mastered making real, true to life endings. His name is John Carney, and I will talk more about him specifically later. I have seen three of his films, and, if you count what I will be doing now, I have reviewed all three of them as well. First, Once, then Begin Again and now Sing Street. So, let's get started.
Sing Street is 2016 film which takes place in 1985 in Dublin, and it's the story of U2. Wait, no. That last part is not true, but I couldn't stop the obvious momentum of that sentence. In all seriousness, though, it is actually about music. No surprise if you've seen the aforementioned films from this writer/director. He may love music even more than I do. Now that is an accomplishment.
The story follows a young man named Conor, played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, and yes, that is a contender for greatest name ever. He's a teenager who decides to start a band. Why? Well, he meets a girl named, Raphina, played by Lucy Boynton, and asks her to be in the video for his band. So, he has to form one. Yes, he did it all for a girl, which is fine, as long as things don't get creepy. And they don't. In fact, Conor discovers that he has quite a talent for this songwriting thing, and his time with the new band takes his mind off his troubles at school and troubles at home. Still, he does find support from Raphina, his band members, and his older brother Brendan, played by Jack Reynor. In fact, I think what I like most about this film is the relationship that Conor has with all of these people. There's something very genuine about it, and it gives the story so much heart. Especially at the end, which I am NOT spoiling, so leave me alone!
Like with many good films I review, I prefer not to give away too much of the plot, and with films like Sing Street, which can be put in the "coming of age" genre, I certainly don't want to do that. It's a "follow along with the journey of our protagonist and see where it takes you" kind of movie. In other words, it is reminiscent of some of the greats.
So, as this is a Music Movie, let's talk about the music. As I said, this takes place in the mid-80's, so you can imagine. Look, I am not the biggest fan of this era of music, but I know it when I hear it. Now, a lot of people get writing credits for the songs, including Adam Levine, Glen Hansard and even Carney himself, but according to my info, a guy named Gary Clark, who was quite prolific in the chosen decade, is responsible for most of it. And I must say, while it is difficult to sound "inspired by" without sounding "carbon copy" of a certain artist, it was done quite brilliantly here. All the songs from the band are unique to it, but you can also tell very easily what their influences were, just by listening. So, they're more like Bruno Mars and company being influenced by late 70's and early 80's funk and dance music, rather than Taylor Swift straight up stealing riffs from Kesha. No, I'm kidding about that. Point being, they managed to capture the essence of the time, whilst giving this fictional band its own sound. Good times, indeed.
Okay, let's talk about that cast. I'd say that, for the most part, everyone in this is relatively unknown, at least in this country, but there is the occasional instance of "Oh, it's that guy from that movie". And I think someone from Game of Thrones got in there as well. I don't know. I don't watch it. But everyone is actually very good, particularly our young leading man. This kid has a lot of quiet charisma, and he is extremely likable, which is important when you've practically got an entire film on your shoulders. And, as I mentioned his relationships with other characters before, much of that relied on the chemistry he had with them. He and Lucy Boynton, who was also exceptionally good in this, worked so well together and were so believable in these roles they were playing and the relationship that they were purporting to have. And Jack Reynor and he did an amazing job at playing these brothers, where there were a few rough edges due to their family's current situation, but you could still see and feel such a sincere love between them. And let me finish by saying I hope Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (still a great name) continues on to do more great things, because I'm pretty sure this kid has it.
I would say that the best thing about Sing Street is the overall feel to it, and how it seems to bring John Carney back to what he does best. What I mean by that is, as much as I liked Begin Again, despite a few casting flaws, it did feel a bit big and Hollywood-ized, if you will. It was such a departure from Once, which people loved because it was just so simple and charming and good. Then, all of a sudden, we've got huge stars and a much bigger budget, but, and again I can't stress enough how much I liked it, it may have lost a bit of the heart. Just a bit. Well, Sing Street has brought that all back. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with big budgets and big stars, I think, perhaps, that John Carney thrives so much more when all of that is stripped away so we can just concentrate on an excellent story with wonderful characters played by great actors who are given superb direction. That is all one needs to have a successful film, and he certainly achieves that here.
Oh, and what I said before about this writer/director giving us good endings? Let me expand. Out of the three films I've seen from him, they all have endings that aren't exactly what you might want for these characters, or what they may have wanted for themselves, but there's always a glimmer of hope. And hope and possibilities often lie right in the middle of the unknown. It's okay to be walking ahead in life into something you may be totally unprepared for, because, at the very least, you're trying something that's not the same thing you've always done. At least, you won't be stuck. And those endings just make me smile and hope for the best, because 'the best' can be an extremely attainable goal. Even if you don't come by it exactly as you had planned.
So, in closing, I highly recommend Sing Street. It's charming and fun and poignant and even heartbreaking at times, but it takes you through those emotions with an amazing authenticity. The story is great, the characters are great and it is just plain good. I don't think you could possibly be disappointed in this one.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
