Film an ode to youthful joy
Sing Street a sweet if slightly incredible paean to boys in the band
Is it possible to song-write yourself into a corner?
That would seem to be the plight of John Carney, whose 2007 musical-romance Once won the Oscar for best song, and launched a best-selling soundtrack, a Broadway musical and who knows how many hopeful busking careers.
Carney’s next biggish thing was 2013’s Begin Again with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo; another tale of whimsy, almost-romance and very fine music. It, too, garnered an Oscar nomination for best song, but lost to Glory from the film Selma.
He’s back again with Sing Street, which returns to his native Dublin and moves the clock back to 1985, with all the hair and makeup that implies. We meet Conor Lawlor, 14 and newly enrolled in a Christian Brothers school by his down-on-their-luck parents.
Bullied by teachers and students alike, Conor finds a ray of hope in Raphina (Lucy Boynton), an aloof beauty whom he somehow screws up the courage to ask to be in a music video for his band. Next step: “Need to form a band.”
Coincidentally, his new school also includes several friendly kids with talent.
Carney nicely captures Conor’s mix of cluelessness and youthful bravado in his screenplay. And newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is a perfect fit in the role.
Sing Street is certainly a joyous movie, but it lacks the lightning-in-a-bottle quality of Once. And Conor’s home life, including a helpful, music-loving older brother, and parents on the verge of divorce, seems calculated to provide just the push he needs to succeed.
The fairy tale has been burnished to such a glossy finish that it no longer feels quite real.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sing Street plays like an extended music video. There’s one shot near the end that took me right back to a-ha’s Take on Me.
If you were able to believe that Michael Jackson danced with zombies in Thriller, then you should have no trouble suspending your disbelief just a little longer for this one.