Synopsis (Rotten Tomatoes):The Irish romance ONCE may be a musical, but it is miles away from the traditional Hollywood idea of people bursting into song. Glen Hansard (frontman for indie rock band The Frames) plays the guy, a street musician who is playing for change when he meets the girl (Marketa Irglova), an immigrant from the Czech Republic. The pair immediately bond over their shared love of music (he is a guitarist, and she plays the piano), and the film chronicles their tentative relationship. Both are weighed down by plenty of baggage: his songs are fueled by a painful breakup, and she is a young mother who left her husband behind in her native country. Like the independent favorite BEFORE SUNRISE, ONCE is a simple, sweet drama that doesn't rely on an elaborate plot. With its use of digital video and handheld cameras, ONCE matches its spare visual style to its intimate mood. Each moment feels stolen from real life, and the story is at once familiar and fresh. Driven more by music than by dialogue, ONCE features a stirring soundtrack of heartfelt indie rock sung by Hansard and Irglova. Before his foray into film, director John Carney (ON THE EDGE) played bass in The Frames, and his passion for music is clear in this modern musical that hits every note perfectly.
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Impressions that I Get: Just as the beautiful song "Falling Slowly" is comprised of a few simple chords in C Major and a basic melody, this movie is nothing fancy, but connects on love and music in a way that the multi million dollar Hollywood flicks never could. On the music front, this film really shines with exceptional original songwriting from Glen Hasard and Marketa Irglova. The fact that these are real musicians playing their own songs adds an excellent step up from the lip syncing and fake guitar playing that occurs in way too many movies. Although this movie could technically be considered a "musical", it plays out so naturally that you never get that sense of "random burst into show stopping song" that occurs in almost every musical. The music is the plot of the story to put it simply, not the other way around.
The other strong aspect of this movie was the portrayal of love. To be frank, it's so rare to see a film that can show, not just tell, that love is not about the number of passionate kiss/sex scenes. The point of "Once" may very well be that love is about connection(emotional, not physical) and, in this case, the music is what comes out of the connection between the man and the woman. (Quick sidenote: The characters never recieve names in the film, this adds to a universal appeal). It was a big step forward in the endless topic of "Love in movies" and I hope other directors take Carney's advice by turning down the pointless sex and turning up the deep connections that bring two people together.
"Once" really has nothing to point out that is clearly bad, this fact might have been one of the many reasons that garnered it a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a few Oscars. The film is concise and simple, but don't let that fool you into thinking that this is just two people singing love odes to each other. It goes above and beyond what is typically expected and leaves the audience wondering why movies that cost 10 times as much have 10 times less impact. The reason might be that Hollywood is forgetting that all you need for a movie, at its base, is some characters and a message. That's all "Once" used and boy did it sing sweet..-AT
Acting (7/10)
Plot (7/10)
Cinematography (8/10)
Originality (9.5/10)
My Grade: A
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