FILM REVIEW : Sing Street

The last film year has included some truly top-notch music films in its repertoire: La La Land, Gimme Danger, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week and Sing Street. Former bassist of Irish rock band The Frames, John Carney, as in his previous films Once (2007) and Begin Again (2013) remains in a genre that perfectly conducts and feels comfortable. Sing Street is from the beginning to the end a feel-good movie that, despite being relatively quiet and shyly going through the cinema, managed to win the sympathy of both critics and viewers.

The year was 1985 and because of a poor economic situation, the parents of the fifteen year old Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) had to enroll him in a Christian school attended exclusively by men. Shortly after going to a new school on the other side of the street, he meets Raphina, a girl who wants to be a model. In order to impress her he says he has a band, and asks if she wants to be in their music video. When she answers she would love to, Conor has nothing else left but to form a band. This is how Sing Street is born.

John Carney returns to Dublin and captures the coming-of-age romantic drama and musical that, over the course of his life, not only pulls a nostalgia note from the '80s, but radiates incredibly positive energy. Although all the topics dealt with in the film (such as the divorce of parents and how it affects children, teenage depression and the discovery of one's own identity), Sing Street is constantly spreading positive vibration and optimism.
Sing Street is, above all, a film about the search for one's own identity. All the characters in the film have certain affinities and dreams about what they want to become and to be in life, the only problem is how to reach that goal. Dublin is not the place where that would work, but London is too distant. This motive is very imaginative and I would say it would show sympathetically the changes in the dress style of the members of the band, after each song they write and record is different. Through their patterns and imitations, they achieve and create their own style.

However, in order for a musical to work perfectly, it is also necessary to have perfect music. The music footprint in Sing Street's film reflects the sounds of the '80s and is truly amazing. The same songs in the movie are not just randomly loaded music tracks, they are the product of events that take place in Conor's private life and act as a kind of therapy in which he not only finds himself, but also expels all the stressful emotions that collects in him. Songs like Drive It Like You Stole It, Brown Shoes, The Riddle of the Model are real rock hits, but also show the full potential of a young acting cast, which, apart from acting, is also reflected in top-class music performance.

Sing Street does not pay much attention to the development of characters, but this is by no means a big disadvantage of the film, because none of them is boring, even the pure contrast is very interesting and appealing. The whole actor's performance did a really good job, but I think Jack Reynor, who plays Conor's older brother Brendan, has the most remarkable and most important role. He becomes his teacher and guide through the world of music, but also the only support when things do not go right. The relationship between the two is emotionally the most developed and definitely gives the film a completely different dimension. Shining roles, besides Ferdia Walsh-Peel and Jack Reynor, are also accomplished by other members of the band, where Mark McKenna is particularly prominent, and Lucy Boynton, who plays the girl Raphyn.

Sing Street has managed to pick up the nomination for the best film on the prestigious Golden Globe Awards, but it is, in the opinion of many fans, unjustly neglected by the American Academy. John Carney certainly brings one of the most recent and best movie achievements in 2016 and Sing Street is no doubt such a film where it is not necessary to be a fan of musicals to enjoy it.

NOTE: This is a translation I did from Croatian to English from an article from Ziher hr
Sing Street review by A. Bajrovic

EXTERNAL LINKS

Interview with John Carley
(source The Verge)

Why was it important to you to cast non-professional actors in the lead roles in Sing Street?

John Carney: Because child actors can have a lot of very bad habits that are taught to them by acting coaches, these slightly charlatan failed actors teaching kids how to act. And then I’d just be standing on a set all day, unwinding and undoing those bad habits. You know how child actors are like [Prissy fake voice.] "My name is Murray, and I’ve been in a show! Well! I’m so angry right now! And now I’m dancing!" And it’s like, "Okay, let’s not do that." So I said "I’ll teach them my own bad habits!"

What was your audition process like? What were you most looking for?

Just for character, really. Looking for kids that had character, that had their own stories, and were able to tell stories, and communicate their ideas, all that sort of stuff, really. Somebody who has — that’s a good question, actually. Apart from musical skill, which was important, I was looking for somebody that would make me laugh. But it was a horrible experience doing that open casting call with kids, because you had to send kids away empty-handed, which I think is terrible. I wouldn’t do it again, to be honest. Because as much as you can explain to an adult why it’s not going their way, I don’t think children understand that. I think children feel the injustice of things. I think it’s not appropriate to promise something, even though you aren’t promising it literally. But to suggest that you might promise something, and then not give it, is probably not good for them. It’s nothing that I’d do again.

How important was musical talent? Are we hearing these kids on the soundtrack?

You’re certainly hearing them singing. So it was very important to me that they were able, that they had a musical background, that they were interested in music.

How familiar were they with this era, with the '80s music you were bringing into the story?

About as familiar I am with the '50s. So my understanding of my parents’ generation, the '40s or '50s — I was born in 1972 — my view of the '50s or '60s is purely through television and bits of literature. Even though I know people who lived in the '50s or '60s, it feels like almost like a different planet, because I didn’t taste it. While the '70s and '80s, I understand. Kids born in 2000 or 2002 or whatever, their relationship with the '80s is purely idea-based, all based on what they see on the internet. So I think "very little" is the answer to your question. What I figured they had was huge black holes of knowledge that I tried to help fill in a little bit, just to explain how the decade worked, the timeline of certain musical events. Their understanding was very patchy. But they loved the look, they loved the music, and they loved the craziness of the '80s. They just needed a lot of gentle research, let’s say, into the decade.

You’ve said this is partially an autobiographical story, reflecting your school, and your band, and the bullies you got off your back with your music, and the girl you wanted to impress. What was the biggest departure for you, from your own life story?

Well, the family dynamic is nothing like my family, really. I think that’s an amalgam of very different families I thought I knew something about, from looking in the window, or through the kids. But the biggest departure is that Conor is an incredibly handsome kid who can do no wrong, and is so full of confidence. I wasn’t like that at all. I had an inner belief in myself, but I didn’t walk around with that swagger. I didn’t look that way. The second Ferdia got the part, the film changed quite significantly. I think it's important to cut your cloth, not try to force an actor like that into saying things in a certain way. So I went with him, I went with the ridiculous confidence Ferdia has. He’s hilarious. And it’s also very current. Kids nowadays have that sort of confidence. It’s not that I used it, I just didn’t fight it. I didn't resist it.