THREE SONGS THAT POWER A DUBLIN MUSICAL
FLORA AND SON DIRECTOR JOHN CARNEY ON THE EVOLUTION OF HIS NEW TUNES
JOHN CARNEY CAN’T help but make films about songwriting. The director of Once and Sing Street returns to the notepad with Flora And Son, a Dublinset musical-romance about a single mum (Eve Hewson), who, through the power of Zoom, falls in love with music via her Los Angeles-based guitar teacher Jeff (Joseph Gordon-levitt). Speaking with Empire, Carney dives deep into some of the songs he wrote for the story.
‘ROOFTOP SONG’
“It’s very romantic, but also [Flora]’s pushing back against that romance, which I love,” says Carney of this acoustic duet between Jeff and Flora. The filmmaker believes it to be the film’s most important song, as it cuts right to the pair’s dynamic; a straight-talking Dublin girl and an LA dreamer. For inspiration he looked to what, in his opinion, is the ultimate duet: ‘Fairytale Of New York’. “It’s as romantic as a Judy Garland song,” he says. “Yet Kirsty Maccoll keeps Shane Macgowan in check, then Shane keeps Kirsty in check. It’s romantic, but it’s like, ‘Hang on a second’, and pulls back.”
‘DUBLIN07’
In a bid to win the heart of a local girl, Flora’s son Max (Orén Kinlan) collaborates with his mum on a romantic rap that frames him as Dublin’s answer to James Bond. “I remember so vividly trying to express myself through music at that age, with the hormonal cascades that are going on in your head,” says Carney. The filmmaker readily admits that he’s not a fan of rap or drill music (a subgenre of hip-hop that features in the song). “It’s my best shot, which just shows how bad I am,” he grins.
‘HIGH LIFE’
A rousing ensemble number performed by the core cast, ‘High Life’ was a long time in the making for Carney, who wanted the song to avoid the trappings of a polished hit. “It had to appear realistic; that these characters would create this sound,” he explains. Yet it still had to sound fun and somehow incorporate a rap verse. To help, Carney drew on the best night of his life: playing a gig on Hallowe’en aged 15. “We were probably not very good, God forbid we should ever hear the tape of that night,” he laughs. “But in the memory of 15 teenagers in Dublin, who were a bit drunk at a party in 1980-something, it was the best night of our lives.” Sometimes you don’t need a stadium, just good company, to feel like a rock star.
FLORA AND SON IS IN CINEMAS AND ON APPLE TV+