Sing Street

Dir: John Carney

2016

****

Sing Street is very much a John Carney production and I would argue that it is his best since 2007's Once. However, the music isn't quite as good, although Once's soundtrack is one of the greatest in modern cinema, so it's really not a dig. The only problem I had was that many of the later songs sounded a little too modern for the year the film is set (1985). John Carney sought the help of 80s singer/songwriter Gary Clark (of Danny Wilson fame) to develop most of the music. Now 'Mary's Prayer' is a tune but most of the songs, particularly towards the end of the film, sounded a little more 00s pop, like the songs he wrote for artists such as Mel C, Emma Bunton, Nick Carter and especially McFly. They're good songs, it just didn't fit into the 80s vibe that the film was otherwise quite good at portraying. There are also many mistakes when it comes to the year and the releases of many of the songs and films mentioned in the script but it really didn't take away much from the film. It's another wonderfully uplifting feel-good film from one of Dublin's best. I loved the story of Conor (played by the very convincing Ferdia Walsh-Peelo in his debut performance), a young lad from a family in trouble with only the guidance of his older brother to help him. Conor moves to a new school due to the the families financial problems and finds himself alone in a rough Christian Brothers state school where he is bullied by both the pupils and the teaching brothers. After a long first day of beatings, Conor sees the beautiful Raphina waiting on some steps opposite the school. Feeling he has nothing to lose after a particularly hard day, he asks her to star in a music video for his band that doesn't exist. When she agrees he suddenly realizes he has to round up a band and learn how to play. He soon meets a wonderfully written and brilliantly performed bunch of characters to form a band with (called Sing Street) and together, they explore and experiment with the many different genres and styles of the mid-eighties in order to discover their own sound. It's so great because it is totally believable, I was only disappointed that the film didn't begin with 'This is a true story' although I can imagine for many young musicians it was probably quite close to their beginnings. The amateur videos the group makes are actually very authentic of the videos of the time and the dialogue between Conor and his brother (Jack Reynor in his career best so far in my opinion) is absolutely spot on. The film is dedicated to brothers everywhere and that comes across very clear in the film. The message is far more universal than the songs are and that's what really counts and I loved every minute of it.