by Frank Calvillo
As a music lover, I’ve always been addicted to VH1’s compulsively watchable Behind the Music, the music biography show where musical artists trace the ups and downs of their entire career. Anyone familiar with the show knows that the first segment of each episode spotlights said band/artist’s beginnings from childhood/adolescence, chronicling what it was that drove them to dedicate their lives to music. I’ve always found these to be the most interesting parts of the episodes because it shows exactly what it was that planted the seed of some of the best music ever made. To describe the enlivening Sing Street, would be to simply imagine the first segment of a Behind the Music episode stretched out over the course of a feature length film, featuring sharply written characters, great music, real comedy and true pathos.
Written and directed by John Carney, Sing Street centers on Connor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), a teen living in Dublin, who is forced to transfer to a new school when family finances take a dive. Faced with strict rules and torment from his classmates, as well as a dismal family life, Connor finds an outlet by forming a “futurist” band called “Sing Street” with a number of misfit classmates, developing a sound all their own. When Connor meets aspiring model Raphina (Lucy Boynton), he becomes determined that his band should make it.
What’s instantly grabbing about Sing Street was how it was a film about inspiration and how inspiration can come from the good, the bad and everything in between. Seeing Connor draw song lyrics from the harsh treatment he receives at school, to his parent’s crumbling marriage prove just as strong as his love for Raphina. In the case Raphina specifically, Connor unquestionably has his ultimate muse. The character is hands down the most dynamic of the film. She was so well-written, at first presented as an older Belinda Carlisle type of model, only to peel away the mask of makeup and jewelry to reveal a lost little girl who was born to survive.
One of the most interesting aspects of the film was watching the forming of the band and the subsequent creative process of the material they created. The way the band was formed out of Connor’s wanting to impress Raphina is not out of the ordinary when compared to how other bands came to be. Meanwhile, I loved that the creation of music was treated with a mix of the authentic and the philosophical, such as the idea of writing lyrics from a place called “happy/sad,” meaning a place where one is at peace with the more downer aspects of life.
It was incredibly hard not to get swept up by virtually all of the songs throughout Sing Street, which were written by Carney and expertly performed by the band themselves. Songs such as “The Riddle of the Model and “Drive it Like You Stole It,” are so infectious, while the slower offerings, such as “To Find You” wonderfully moved the plot along, representing, as does the film as a whole, the power of music.
Sing Street doesn’t come without its standard assortment of cliches. There was Connor’s dysfunctional family, Raphina’s troubled past and a couple of school bullies. All of these setbacks were obvious and easy to see coming, but really, they are necessary plot points since these are the kinds of obstacles on which legendary bands were formed and great music was made. Any moments that might have been hampered by cliched elements are saved by some effectively potent humor, which came courtesy of the many quirks from the band themselves.
The performances within Sing Street are the kind that are so beautifully in sync with the material that they feed off each other in the best of ways. As Connor, Walsh-Peelo is so real and true in the central role. The way he projects his character clinging to his passion in the face of many outside frustrations, is incredibly compelling. Boynton meanwhile, brings a beautiful sadness to Raphina, making her more a dreamer than a victim. Finally, as Brendan, Connor’s older brother, Jack Reynor reveals hidden depths to the stoner older brother who is ultimately dealing with the fact that his life has gone nowhere.
Slight spoiler alert, we never get to see whether or not the band ever makes it to the big time. The film closes on an idea of hope, where courage and ambition are still alive. In a way, this is the most fitting end to the film. By not seeing the band make it and run into the eventual troubles that most groups find themselves facing, it allows the movie to remain about energy, art and dreams.
