Review: Sing Street (2016)

[David N. Butterworth]

SING STREET (2016)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2016 David N. Butterworth

*** (out of ****)

Fancy a fun, family-friendly flick about "teens crushing on each other with
big hair and too much eyeliner, playing music in the 1980s in Dublin"
(according to the wife), written and directed by the guy who made "Once"
and "Begin Again"? If so, you'll likely fancy "Sing Street," John Carney's
latest musical number, a throwback to "The Commitments," Alan ("Fame")
Parker's infectious 1991 hit about a motley crew of working-class R&B
performers struggling to become Dublin's next big thing in pre-Celtic Tiger
Ireland. This time around the performers are pint-sized and the music is
new wave.
Cute as all get out, "Sing Street" features younger and less
well-known faces than "Begin Again"'s Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo (an
East Village singer-songwriter's raw talent captivates a disgraced--and
tousled--record producer!), or even "Once"'s Glen Hansard and Marketa
Irglova (an Irish busker and a Czech immigrant pair up... and win an Oscar!),
but is no less appealing as a result. In fact, it's a calculated crowd
pleaser; the crowd with whom I saw it was pleased enough to offer a round
of applause when the house lights came up.
Carney's coming of age tale is told through the widening eyes of
15-year-old Conor, engagingly played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo. Early in the
film, Conor finds himself downgraded to a rough Christian Brothers school
to help his embattled parents make ends meet. In order to impress the
older girl who loiters across the street from his new school, Conor is
forced to pull a band together at short notice. Since it's the '80s, the
music video is all the rage, and Conor's courtship of aspiring model
Raphina (Lucy Boynton) involves self-penned love songs on cassette tape and
VHS shoots involving the aforementioned big hair and eyeliner, not to
mention garishly ill-advised costumes. Conor's older-and-wiser stoner
brother Brendan (Jack Reynor) provides the group's grounding, vinyl-wise.
It's not all silly and syrupy though. There are Conor's warring
parents, constantly yelling at each other behind closed doors, your typical
criminally over-attentive headmaster and, all in all, just another prick in
the hall (a burly bully in bovver boots). Despite these believable
downers, the tone is mostly charming and Carney--former bassist of Dublin's
The Frames so he knows a thing or two about basic chord
progressions--rounds out the soundtrack of period pop synth hits (Duran
Duran's "Rio," The Cure's "In Between Days," M's "Pop Muzik," etc.) with
some authentic-sounding songs of his own, convincing as the outpourings of
Conor and his titular band--pop wonders like "The Riddle of the Model" and
"Drive It Like You Stole It."
My only complaint is one of production. Crank those '80s gems higher
in the mix!
"Sing Street" is, by turns, joyous and uplifting, awkward and
formulaic, kind of like life I suppose (especially if you're a 15-year-old
Irish lad with not very big problems). Think about it though: chips,
snoggin', and A Flock of Seagulls. What more could one *possibly* need?

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterwo...@gmail.com