Once is Not Enough
Irish Import Contains a Weak Story, but the Music is Divine
Director and screenwriter John Carney has created a paper-thin love story, but the inspired casting of Frames lead singer Glen Hansard makes this film a winner.
On a technical level, “Once,” a new Irish import about a street musician who’s trying to make a living with his music, is only a step or two above the homemade videos that pop up on YouTube. This very familiar story of “boy meets girl”, which was an award-winner at Sundance this year, is about as thin and durable as a piece of sheet music and lacks the polish of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Yet, despite its mechanical flaws, this film from musician John Carney succeeds brilliantly thanks to Glen Hansard, lead singer of the popular Irish band the Frames. Hansard has such a powerful voice and the songs that he co-wrote with Carney are so inspiring that the music alone is worth the price of admission.
Hansard plays a character referred to in the script as the “Guy,” a busker (street musician) in Dublin who sings for change and also repairs vacuum cleaners on the side with his father. Since his girlfriend has left to go to London, the Guy also is quite lonely and lacks the courage to follow both her and his own dreams of making it in the recording industry.
While singing on the street one day, the Guy meets his muse, the “Girl” (Marketa Irglova), a pretty immigrant who turns out to be a single mom and something of a musician herself. Her child’s father currently is not in the picture, so Guy lures her back to his place with the promise of repairing her vacuum cleaner. His later attempts at seduction fail miserably, though.
The Girl does love his music and, with her help and guidance, he’s able to secure enough money to make a professional quality demo tape. The two of them also find a group of street performers who agree to serve as backup musicians.
The Guy and the Girl then have to find the courage in themselves to let the songs in their hearts come out for everyone to hear.
Shot in a mere 17 days, “Once” definitely looks homegrown with its shaky visuals and an audio track that sounds a bit muddy at times. Glen Hansard’s original songs make the film as strong as iron, though, and Carney wisely lets the music take center stage instead of the love story.
"Once" does have some brilliant moments, though, especially the scene where the Girl, who can't afford her own instrument, shows the Guy her musical abilities on a piano in the back of a music shop. Moments like these are few and far between, but when Carney hits the mark, it's a bullseye.
To some, this film may appear a bit amateurish, but once Glen Hansard opens his mouth to start singing, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that this film is something special.
“Once,” rated R for language starts a limited run in the United States on May 16th.
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