Once More With Music
I love that film can surprise me. I tend to see film in little varied chunks at times. Genres tend to blend together and you get a bad taste in your mouth. Then you see a film that blows your happy little generic world out of the water. Once is a musical, and one of the most interesting and well done musicals I have ever viewed.
I watched this film after a few word of mouth comments and a few other reviews. Each snippet began with the inevitable, “You have to see this.” My reaction is always a mixture of painful reminders of watching horrible films that I had to see and happy reminders of watching truly unique films. I did notice that no one that had watched this film never began with anything but “You have to see this.” Which brings me to this point and my own proclamation. You have to see this film!
The film revolves around a man (Glen Hansard) and a girl (Markéta Irglová, who develop a relationship through music. The man is a street musician vacuum repair man that sings about the girl that got away. It certainly helps that Hansard is the lead singer for The Frames. His songs are filled with folksy Irish heartbeats, except for the metal version of the fuck her song. The girl meets the man on the street and shows interest in his music, becoming his musical collaborator (which is good since they have collaborated in real life as well). We are led through what appears to be a falling in love story, however that love is not for each other. Sorry to ruin it a bit, but one of the outstanding notions of this film is that it is not a romantic comedy where our two main characters fall in love with each other. Don’t let that dissuade you, it is still a love story.
The music is always a key to a musical, and Once is no different. Where many musicals fail to use the music as anything more than a reason to sing, Once incorporates the songs seamlessly. By the end you do get tired of a few songs, but the weight each on carries helps to look beyond that factor. The words make the story, while the harmonies between Glen and Markéta create some of the best moments ever viewed on screen. This is demonstrated the first time they play together in a little music shop. You see them meld together; creating literally, beautiful music.
Some parts of the film tend to drag a bit, but only because of the style of filmmaking. You get used to the documentary feel of the cameras and are drawn more to the characters because they seem like you and me (albeit with tons more talent). As a viewer, you want each of these characters to succeed. I am looking forward to other films by John Carney if this is how he handles characters.
Once is definitely one of my favorites films of the year, if not of all time. It has an underdog feel to it that makes you want to like it. It’s folksy and not fantastical. There are no loving smooches or chase scenes, just a down home film that can make you giggle at the prospect of someone dragging a vacuum cleaner down a busy street and cry when you hear the heartbreak soaked into a lyric. Watch this film and forget any preconceived notions about film or musicals, and you may be a surprised as I was.