Review of Sing Street (2016) by Thomas D — 26 Sep 2016

Music is one of the driving forces of a motion picture. It can set the mood or ruin the mood in the blink of an eye. I've always been fascinated by that, and Sing Street is a great example of how music and the moments of discovering young adulthood can completely change your life.

2016 has been a great year for film. Yes, some of the blockbusters and the films we had on our "most anticipated" lists have definitely let down, but there have been some dang good movies this year. Sing Street may very well be the best that 2016 has to offer. It's the third feature film by John Carney, who's starting to become one of my favorite directors, and it follows along the music path that he chose for his first two features. I have yet to see 'Once', but I have seen 'Begin Again', and it grows on me every time I catch it on TV. Carney has a way of using music to not only set the mood, but to drive home major themes and ideas through the lyrics of a catchy song. Sing Street definitely has catchy songs, but it has an even better story and message.

His films communicate using music, and when such a thing is done right in movies, it's extremely powerful and moving. Carney chose to cast unknown and relatively inexperienced actors for the band members, and that choice proved to be effective as well. There's something to be said about following a group of actors who you have no previous recollection of, and just seeing where the story goes. In many ways, this film felt real. It felt like these kids were actually from the 80's and making a tribute song to the bands that they were listening to at the time. It's truly special.

One of the quotes on the cover of the DVD is from Irish megastar, Bono. He claims that "In truth, most films won't touch Sing Street's portrayal of awakening." He's right. There haven't been many films that have come close to Sing Street's portrayal of discovery and having dreams when no one else seems to allow you to. Perhaps 'Almost Famous' is the only other film that feels this genuine when it comes to the world of music.

Although the band members and Lucy Boynton's Raphina character are likely to be the topic of conversation, I think Jack Reynor is the clear standout here. It's by far the meatiest role in the film, but Reynor stands up to the task, and gives perhaps the best performance of his career. I will no longer think of him as the guy from Transformers 4 (yikes), he's now that cool brother from Sing Street. I was blown away.

Not many people can say they were in a band, but I think we can all say we did something crazy for someone we liked. The premise is based around a boy starting a band to an impress a girl, and that's something we can all relate to. On one hand, that angle is interesting enough, but what really fascinated we was how Carney turns a love story into a film about self-discovery and the power you feel when you have created something special. To me, John Carney has created something special in his own right here.

+Carney does it again.

+Fresh actors bring a strong likability.

+Reynor.

+Catchy songs with a heartwarming story.

10/10.