Watch it Like You Stole It, But Don’t Steal It Please.
In the go-nowhere town of Dublin in 1985, Connor finds out about the news of attending a new school called Synge Street. This is a rough school, filled with bullies and rule enforcing faculty. One thing shines in the Connor’s future though, a mysterious girl from across the street. To get her attention, he must start a band. What happens next? Let’s find out in my review of Sing Street.
Connor comes from a broken and broke family in Dublin, Ireland. When he goes to his new school, the first day sets the mood. Get beat up by bully, check, get dogged by the administration, check. Life’s not easy for the new kid, let alone a music nerd. Enter mysterious and beautiful girl named Raphina. She’s an aspiring model, looking to get her break.
Connor is heavily into rock music and considers their music video’s art. As an idea to court Raphina, he offered to put her into a music video, but the problem is, he doesn’t have a band. One Rocky montage later, the band is formed and it’s time to put out some music.
By the title, you might guess that this is a musical, but John Carney was able to break the mold. There’s no random breaking into song and dance here. As Connor’s life unfolds, their band shoots music videos and portray his current feelings. This is where they can use music to help tell the story without it feeling like a musical. The music was great! Each song was original and performed by the lead actor, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo. If you can, try to watch the movie before you listen to the soundtrack, it was a fun ride to hear all of the original songs as they follow the story.
Where the movie falls short is the character development. We mainly follow Connor as he evolves as a person throughout the story. There is also a few backstories that explain Raphina’s situation. Other than that, we get little exposition of the supporting cast. I would have loved to learn more about the background of his family and band members.
This movie is incredibly charming. It tells the classic story of the geek that ends up getting the girl. Simple but effective. The musical set pieces helped tell us about Connor’s feelings at the time. The movie presents us with the question of what could we have done in grade school if we took chances like Connor did.
This movie is for anyone. Like I said, it’s not a traditional movie musical, so it opens the door for a wider audience. Although it falls a little short in character development, I would recommend this to anyone. Check it out if you can.