GAVIN BURKE
IRISH FILM
After his Oscars flirtation with
Once (it won an award for Best Song) writer-director John Carney’s experiments in other genres have been hit-and-miss: comedy
Zonad was so-so, horror The Rafters never made it to the cinemas, and while the Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley vehicle Begin Again tried to rediscover the Once magic (a combination of music and romance) it didn’t have the same intimacy. But with Sing Street – a mashup of The
Commitments and We Are The Best – Carney has tapped into that groove of innocence, tenderness and a red hot love for great pop music.
Dublin, sometime in the early Eighties, and the world of 15-year-old Cosmo (played by newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) has been turned upside down: his parents (Aiden Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy) are on the verge of splitting up and the recession has induced sheltered Cosmo’s move to
a rougher school where he’s beset by bullies (a wiry Ian Kenny) and Christian brothers (a sadistic Don Wycherly).
But wait: older girl Raphina (Lucy Boynton) is impressed that Cosmo is not only in a group but shoots his own videos, too. The only problem is that he has spun her lies and so Cosmo rushes about forming a band, roping in genius multi-instrumentalist Eamonn (an eyecatching turn from Mark McKenna) as co-song writer. Under the guidance of his older brother (Jack Reynor), a dope-smoking college dropout, Cosmo discovers the brave new world of New Wave’s styles and sounds...
A charming and likeable romantic comedy, Sing Street has Carney firing on all cylinders again, having fun with the look of Eighties’ Dublin (stonewashed denim, anyone?) in an affectionate, nostalgic manner and there’s a genuine love for the ‘happy/sad’ pop songs of the day. The band’s original songs are belters too with Drive It Like You Stole It a standout.
But Carney’s film depends on the young cast and they are a triumph with an impressive Walsh-Peelo delightfully bouncing off McKenna, Boynton and the other band members – selected for their interest in playing an instrument rather than acting training.
Sing Street doesn’t have it all its own way, though. There is a rehashing of the standout moments of Once (the realtime construction of songs), the humour can be obvious at times (pop music’s then outlandish styles badly recreated by the band in cheap-as-chips videos), and the ending stretches credibility.
But that’s nit-picking – Sing Street’s tale of first love (both music and girls) is a tender and funny one.
‘There’ s a genuine love for the happy/ sad pop songs of the Eighties. The band’ s original songs a rebel te rs, too’