Review of Sing Street (2016) by Jim K — 16 May 2016

After enjoying Once, and absolutely loving Begin Again, I was kind of excited to see what would come next from Writer/Director John Carney. Little did I know Sing Street would be the most satisfying and entertaining trip to the movies I've had this year. The film is the story of a young man in Dublin who is transferred to a new school and then decides to start up a band. With his older brother as a mentor, a girl as inspiration, and a group of his classmates working with him, he embarks on a journey to discover what rock-and-roll is all about. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I really enjoyed how the film focuses so much on 80s pop-rock, which made the movie have a strong nostalgic feel. The cast of kids are all excellent actors, particularly Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Lucy Boynton in the lead roles. They have some complex dramatic and emotional scenes that they handle just as well as any adult could. There are a couple of the kids who have heavier accents than the rest, and it was occasionally a struggle to understand what they said, but that just added to their charm as characters.

Perhaps the most notable thing about this film is the original music. When I walked out of the theater and started research I was shocked to learn that most of the songs are originals. They fit so perfectly to the era that the film is set in, and match the styles of the other bands that influenced the main character. Also they are so lyrically perfect for the different situations that he is going through. It amazes me how well John Carney can put himself into the role of his characters and write songs that are so relevant for their lives. This is the first film in years where I walked out of the theater and instantly thought "Well, there's a soundtrack I need to buy." As you can see, just about every aspect of Sing Street pleased me. It was a film that I found to be inspiring, emotional, and funny. I almost forgot to mention the humor, but we laughed a lot throughout the film. It would be wrong to sell it as a comedy, but there were certainly some funny moments. Each year there are a lot of little films like this that pass by unnoticed, but I will shout the praises of Sing Street in an effort to make sure that no one I know can claim they never heard of it. So far, this is my favorite film of 2016 without question.