|
Movie Review - Once (2007)
|
|
|
|
|
(What this rating means)
|
|
| |
|
| Director: |
John Carney |
| Starring: |
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová |
| Rated: |
R (for language) |
| Length: |
85 minutes |
| Genre: |
Drama/Music |
| Tagline: |
How often do you find the right person? |
| Studio: |
Fox Searchlight |
| Website: |
Once |
| Release: |
May 25, 2007 |
|
PLOT
|
Once is the inspirational tale of two kindred spirits who find each other on the bustling streets of Dublin. One is a street
musician who lacks the confidence to perform his own songs. The other is a young mother trying to find her way in a strange new town.
As their lives intertwine, they discover each other's talents and push one another to realize what each had only dreamt about before.
The writing, rehearsing, and recording of songs that tell their love story ensues.
|
|
JOHNNY'S TAKE
|
Musicals. Not really my style. At last count, there are exactly zero of them adorning my DVD shelves. I avoid them like Nicole
Richie avoids calories. You see, my idea of a musical is taking a Broadway play and placing it directly on the big screen. I
envision over-the-top characters flitting about on-screen, randomly bursting into song in the most ridiculous of places.
That's why I ask you, if you harbor the same disdain for the genre that I do, to ignore any references to Once being a
musical. I'd hate for you to carry that misconception and miss out on this gem of an independent Irish film. Once is so much
more. It's real. It's honest. It's vulnerable. It's a love story told through deeply personal songs involving characters that
embody the exact qualities that make the film so special.
Director John Carney presents the story in such a way that it feels like we're watching an extended home video. This allows for an intimacy
that you don't find in most of today's Hollywood assembly line productions. There are no "name" actors. No flashy special effects. Absolutely
no sense of pretense or ego. We're simply given a guy, a girl, and the songs that tell their story.
It's a story that's told more effectively thanks to the wise decision to cast real-life musicians in the lead roles. This decision was made
at the risk of losing the support of major studios, but it was a decision that defined the film's integrity. Where do you expect
to find passion? From an experienced actor lip-synching and pretending to play guitar, or from the man who wrote and lived the songs?
It's a passion that extends from Glen Hansard's performances to his on-screen relationship with Markéta Irglová. Markéta is a refreshing
face, and her real-life friendship with Glen can be seen in her expressive eyes and smile. There are moments in the film, particularly
the scene in the music shop, where they make a personal connection that unfamiliar actors wouldn't be able to fake.
These are all nuances that combine to give the film a truly personal feel. Who can't relate to themes about heartbreak and lost love?
Serving as the film's main dialogue, Glen's lyrics are sharp and smart and say more in three minutes than scene after scene of written
conversation. If words can speak to the heart, then why not words and music?
I also respect the film's bittersweet ending. Happiness isn't always defined in fairy tale terms. Neither should love be restricted to something
physical. Sometimes happiness is simply following your own path because you know it's the right thing to do. Love, perhaps, is sharing a moment, but
leaving it at that. That's real. That's honest. That's vulnerable. And that's what sets Once apart.
People love fairy tales because they're happily ever after. I love Once because it's personal. It affirms that there are others
out there who have experienced similar feelings. It assures you that you're not alone.
|
|
ODDS & ENDS
|
- Filmed in 17 days.
- In the early 1990's, before devoting himself to a film career, Carney was a musician playing bass guitar with Dublin band The
Frames.
- As he developed the concept that would become ONCE, he sought "something that would express itself in ten pages of dialogue or
script. A two-and-a-half-three-minute piece of music, I always feel, can be as powerful as a day's conversation with, for example, a
young lady. You can talk and talk and talk..."
- The story is set in Carney's native Dublin, with Frames' singer Glen Hansard as a songwriting guitarist, and Markéta Irglová - a
musician from the Czech Republic who has collaborated with Hansard - as an immigrant pianist. Despite Carney's background as a former
member of The Frames, he hadn't initially considered either Hansard or Irglová for the key roles, even though he had Hansard
contributing songs from the beginning.
- "The great thing about Glen is that he's not an actor, so he doesn't actually care, in a way," says Carney. "Sometimes, working
with professional actors, you realize you're just helping them put their show-reel together. A professional actor can rarely get
behind a production in the way a non-actor will, which is understandable. I like working with non actors because they'll give you
their all."
- Glen dropped out of school at the age of 13 at the advice of his headmaster who encouraged him to become a street musician and
start his career from the bottom up.
- For Markéta Irglová, then only 17, the concept of acting was alien, although she had been aware of the project and was enthused by
it. "The idea of the film sounded nice, and then one night I got a phone call from Glen, asking if I'd like to act in the film. I
thought he was joking! But he was serious, saying that John was considering casting me in the film, that he wanted me to audition for
it."
- Johnny thinks Markéta rules because she told him she liked his Southern accent. Give this gal the Oscar!
- The initial intent was to put the movie on DVD, sell it in their homeland, and hopefully make their money back.
- Glen Hansard was in The Commitments with Colm Meaney who was in Mystery, Alaska with Russell Crowe who is in
American Gangster with star-on-the-rise Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
|
|
MAMA'S APPROVAL
|
The only aspect of the film that would make mama uncomfortable is the language, which includes a few f and s-bombs.
|
|
TRAILER COMPARISON
|
Great trailer. It showcases two of my favorite songs from the movie and made me want to watch it again.
|
|
THE GIST
|
Go see it, folks. Pay a little respect to a couple of guys from Ireland and a gal from the Czech Republic who had limited funds and
limited resources, but who had a story to tell and the integrity to tell it as it should be told. Let yourself be pleasantly surprised.
|
|
