Review of Sing Street (2016) by Francisco Q — 24 Apr 2017

"Sing Street" made me the happiest I've been watching a movie in years. At least on my first viewing (I've seen it probably eight times over the past year). And I say during my first viewing, because that's when I was able to fully let the music effect me and pump me up. It was new and exciting. Don't get me wrong, I still love the movie every time I watch it. It's just that after that initial viewing I was able to focus more on the melancholy overtones that the music kind of muffles at first.

But whether it made me happy or sad or happy-sad, Sing Street is a wonderful movie. It'sâ?? far from a technical marvel, and I can't imagine anyone will take influence on visual storytelling from it, but it's a well written musical that has a love for its characters you can't find in many other movies.

The eighties are an overplayed genre right now. It seems like since "Drive" came out back in 2011 every media marketing team is obsessed with neon lights and pulsating synth. "Sing Street" breaks free of this disco fever-dream by displaying the decade as the director saw it as a kid. The streets are grey and the clothes are washed out. But rock music acts as an uplifting distraction, by being the source of almost all color and light.

The performances in this film are all great, especially considering the ages of most of the stars. I'm generally not a fan of kid actors, but the ones cast here are really good. And while she isn't really a kid, I thought Lucy Boynton was a definite stand out. Sixteen-year-old Raphina is a complicated person, and the twenty-something actress managed to dive under every layer to bring out something really special.

The events that happen in the movie are interesting on their own, but the music is obviously the thing that separates this from other coming-of-age dramedies. It's all decade appropriate for sure, but above all else it's just really good. I've been listening to the complete soundtrack on its own ever since I saw the film. It grows and matures as the characters writing it do, and the influences behind each song become less obvious as the band developed its own style. I love it.

Actualy, "I love it," is a great way to summarize how I feel about "Sing Street." Five out of five Mars Bars. I love it.