Pressured by the goal to impress a girl that he likes, a boy decides to start the Irish band known as “Sing Street”. In director John Carney’s latest musical-influenced movie, he takes us back to 1980s Dublin, seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy named Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who is looking for a break from a home strained by his parents’ relationship and money troubles, while trying to adjust to his new inner-city public school where the kids are rough and the teachers are rougher. He finds a glimmer of hope in the mysterious, uber-cool and beautiful Raphina (Lucy Boynton), and with the aim of winning her heart he invites her to star in his band’s music videos. There’s only one problem: he’s not part of a band yet. She agrees, and now Conor must deliver what he’s promised; calling himself “Cosmo” and immersing himself in the vibrant rock music trends of the decade, he forms a band with a few lads, and the group pours their heart into writing lyrics and shooting videos, surprisingly building a cult following in the process. “Sing Street” is rated PG-13 for minor adult language and romantic material.
John Carney is a master director for music-films, and his latest project certainly keeps the momentum going while aiming at a younger target audience. While offering an 80’s new wave loveletter, Carney combines his love for his homeland of Ireland with a generation of music that was well known for creating big-stage personas. Where “Sing Street” triumphs is in an 80’s flashback nostalgic trip that showcases the musical offerings and style choices for the times. For much of the film’s visuals, we see the fashion styles of the ever-evolving pop scene in Ireland to reflect that of what our teenage cast are wearing. Carney also takes us back to the times when being an awkward teenager seemed like a dead-end road along the alley to nowhere. Its characters feel authentic to the kinds of phases that the movie is dissecting, but there are a couple of flaws within the lack of back story exposition for their traits and quirks, mostly in the supporting cast whose screen time is a one-and-done affair of disproportion. At its core, “Sing Street” is a musical yearbook on teenage love and the embarkments of being a young adult and seeing the world for the first time. At 100 minutes even, there certainly are enough central themes to carry Carney’s script, but it does hit some speed bumps along the way.
The first of those comes in a mood change during the second act that sucks away all of the fun that the first thirty minutes had created for itself. While the setting of Dublin, Ireland certainly lacks the visual charms of a big name city, the movie’s mood created for itself a sarcastic brand of humor that kept me laughing with jumbled Irish accents and schoolboy humor that details the humiliation of one’s first day at a new school. As a screenwriter, John certainly takes enough chances from scene-to-scene, but the second half is the boldest of them all. Suddenly the movie becomes a teenage romance drama, which isn’t terribly articulated, but just doesn’t transition smoothly from the kind of immaturity that the first act’s comedy entailed. The relationship between Conor and Raphina is definitely the front and center for the movie’s musical landscape, but it played better when Raphina was presented as this sort of mystery video girl, as opposed to a bland diatribe about Conor’s heart breaking when he realizes that he can’t be with her. It takes away too much from the flow of the band scenes, and that is really where Carney’s passion for this project lies. With most musicals, you can usually predict where the music is going to be placed and you usually get it in some silly internal performance from the movie’s characters. For “Sing Street”, everything is carefully placed to reach its appropriate reaction. It gives greater meaning to the film’s eclectic soundtrack when we appropriatly hear The Cure during a sad moment in the script, or Hall and Oates during a spirited one. Everything gets its intended emotional response, but its placement is just the beginning of a bigger picture that produced the very best soundtrack midway through 2016.
As I already mentioned two of the 80’s heavyweights that musically narrate the film, there are plenty more that represent the glam rock era that hits Ireland. The soundtrack includes Motorhead, The Jam, and Joe Jackson to name a few, and this is certainly a film that centers musical importance on being a teenager. What really opened my eyes to the audio magic that the movie had was in original music for the motion picture that produced a few toe-tapping anthems. For a teenage garage band, the music of the Sing Street band is appealing to audiences of all ages. The rhythms are similar to those that 80’s kids-now parents can appreciate for that electronic sound reminiscent of the MTV era. Teens today will dig it for the retro effect on brightly colored fashions, as well as music from a band of cute-faced teenagers. There’s certainly something for everyone, and that’s what makes “Sing Street” a hit with more than one age group.
On the subject of performances, Carney introduces us to many future stars sure to make their presence felt for decades to come. As Conor, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo transforms from beginning to end into the rock star that he was born to become. It’s funny to see such an awkward boy in the beginning of the film because he certainly doesn’t feel like the same kid who comes out of his shell by movie’s end. This is Walsh-Peelo’s first feature film, and his performance goes above and beyond, as a lot of the film’s mood and direction lies in his hands as the main heartbeat of the film. Lucy Boynton is also a breath of fresh air as that unattainable girl for nerdy high school boys everywhere. In the movie, Lucy exerts stylish cool, while being a personable lead that makes her more than just eye candy for the main protagonist. There’s a lot going on in Raphina’s life, and slowly with each scene the movie strips off the makeup to discover the aching-hearted girl down below. My favorite performance of the movie definitely came from Jack Reynor as Brendan, Conor’s older brother. The two boys share a chemistry being so close in age, but its in Brendan’s lack of determination to make his life better that Conor sees his family and town as a dead end, so it’s in Brendan where Conor turns to for not only musical knowledge, but lifetime experiences as well. Reynor in appearance is a cross between Chris Pratt and Seth Rogen, and while offering the best comedically timed lines of the movie, Reynor certainly brings out the best in both of those Hollywood heavyweights.
This is however where my positives for the performances end, as all of the boys in Conor’s band just kind of serve as backdrops for the main trio. After the musical montage of boys joining the band, they are virtually non-existent for the remainder of the film, instead taking turns to chime in when the movie needs reminder why they are there. I would’ve loved to find out more about their personalities, but Carney isn’t interested in that position of the movie, and that’s a shame.
Overall, “Sing Street” continues to offer a musical mixtape of John Carney’s favorite jams. However, this film is the weakest of Carney’s three movies because the story isn’t as tightly constructed as “Once” or “Begin Again”. The movie is enjoyable for the kinds of commentary on earnestness on teenage efforts with life and romance, and despite its problems does serve as a spunky romantic drama about a gifted singer and songwriter who is transformed by music and love.
6/10