Review of Once (2007) by Harry W — 18 Dec 2015

Skyrocketing the career of the man who would go on to create Begin Again (2014), Once sounded like a chance to see where it all began for director John Carney.

Musical films very rarely please me due to an obsession with style over substance and a frequent excess of singing which gets in the way of genuine storytelling. With Once, the budget is so incredibly no that there is no room to obsess over massive amounts of glitz and glam. In actual fact, the film is captured with cinematography techniques and resolution which is somewhat rough, giving the film the feeling of a home movie. It isn't something that is frustrating, it simply puts a strong feel of realism into Once and works as a budgeting technique at the same time. One of the greatest elements of Once is simply how realistic it is.

Once is realistic in terms of style, story and even as a musical. In terms of narrative, Once is a film where not too much happens. In that sense it can be rather slow at times, but its 86 minute running time ensures that it doesn't stretch things on for too long. Much of the realism in the narrative lies in the fact that it is such a low budget film that it is devoid of the Hollywood conventions found in big-budget star vehicles. The film has elements of comedy and drama, but it feels very genuine. Like real life, the film story is unpredictable and so when the drama happens it is not some massive build-up for an unleashed climax but rather stems from natural interactions between the characters. It's almost as if there is no screenplay for the film and the actors are humans being shot from afar, and this is a feeling influenced by the cinematography. Once is not a film with tedious subplots, an abundance of characters or cheesy romance, it is a genuine story of love and music. In that sense, it is beautiful. As someone who is picky with musical films and can't stand generic love stories, I can certify that Once successfully transcends my standards for both genres and stands out as a production of pure artistic vision. John Carney's ambition to find such grace in a simplistic premise is a remarkable achievement in which his success cannot be denied.

As a musical, Once is unlike any other that has ever been made. The musical numbers in the film occur when the characters are singing to themselves or to others, when they are sharing an artistic passion with the people around them. And instead of hiding behind an unseen orchestra, the actors actually have to play the instruments on screen much of the time. And when the cast is singing they have to do it in extended shots, such as the scene in which Marketa Irglova walks down the dark streets and sings "If You Want Me". The music in the film is truly beautiful, made up of words that mean something and instruments rather than catchy beats and corporate sponsoring. The soundtrack in Once is a truly marvellous collection of songs, the kind with passion and spirit yet also a feeling of serene grace to them which illuminates the heart of the film and brings out its greatest strength. Any time there is music in Once, the film is at its truly greatest.

And it is difficult to imagine many people walking out of Once having not been touched by the many talents of the two leads.

Glen Hansard is perhaps the most memorable thing about Once. The man is a professional musician with hardly any acting experience under his belt, but he is clearly a born artist. His performance in Once is hardly a performance, it feels simply like he is giving his heart to viewers through a restrained one-off performance. He never goes melodramatic or sentimental with his performance, but he conveys a really humane feeling of vulnerability at times. He is sympathetic the entire time, and whenever he crosses paths with Marketa Irglova on screen the way his eyes light up is truly a sign of passion. Of course, it is his musical talents which really sell his effort in Once because his talents with a guitar are second only to his remarkable skills at voice articulation. When he puts them together and plays the Academy Award winning "Falling Slowly", the hypnotism of the music's beauty is so rich that it almost left me in tears. Glen Hansard has the power to make viewers truly feel all kinds of things with his music skills in Once, and he leads the film remarkably by making his talents of all kinds seem so organic in execution.

Marketa Irglova is also a marvellous presence. Capturing a similar spirit as Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova conveys a true feeling of vulnerability in her effort, seeming like a lost foreigner in an English-speaking land. This means that she has the sympathy of viewers from the get-go, and as she spends more time developing chemistry with Glen Hansard we gain a greater understanding of not just her character's weaknesses but her strengths as well. She captures the audiences the same way she captures the other characters, and her natural persona is such a beautiful asset to Once. And of course, her singing talents are remarkable. Though English is not her first language, Marketa Irglova sings with fluent grace in her words and the times that her accent leaks over into her singing actually puts a twist on her words and serves to add a mysterious allure to them. She really has a remarkable way of articulating different tones of voice and emotions into what she is saying or singing, and it is clearly because she really believes in the words that flow out of her. Marketa Irglova's performance is a product of subtle brilliance in acting and captivating spirit in singing.

So Once may have a simple narrative and a slow pace, but the beauty for the film lies in its realism, its magnificent soundtrack and the extremely talented leads.