REVIEW: Inspiring and heartfelt ‘Sing Street’ well worth seeking out
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The summer movie season seems to be more saturated with massive blockbusters every year. I spend a couple of weeks of every year catching up with smaller movies I lost amid the din created by the big studio ones.
One movie I missed out on this year was “Sing Street,” a wonderful little movie about youth, music and love that has more heart and joy in 10 seconds of its run time than most blockbuster manage to display in two-plus hours.
”Sing Street” introduces us to Connor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), a 15-year-old Irish schoolboy coming up in mid-1980s Dublin. His family life is filled with strife, and he’s also dealing with being the new kid at his school. Amidst the awkwardness and bullying, Connor finds refuge in the pop music of the ’80s.
Connor finds a direction when he meets Raphina (Lucy Boynton). Connor is immediately smitten and decides to start a band to impress her. With some sage advice from his older brother, Brendan (Jack Reynor), Connor embarks on a musical adventure filled with emotion, friendship and laughs.
Films like “Sing Street” are why I love movies. It’s well-crafted, directed and written by the John Carney-led filmmaking team. But it goes far beyond that. This movie captures a feeling that everybody can relate to on some level. It brings out the kid in all of us who wanted to start a rock band, get the girl (or guy) and look super cool doing it. And in doing so, it puts an enormous smile on your face.
The young cast is stellar. Walsh-Peelo captures the awkwardness, vulnerability and bravado of being a teenage boy so perfectly, it’s as if he’s not even acting. Boynton gives of the perfect air of intrigue as the seemingly unapproachably attractive girl. Then she lets Raphina’s mask fall away, and you see she’s just a kid with sad back story and big dreams. And she pulls that off beautifully.
My personal favorite performance in “Sing Street” is Reynor’s turn as Brendan. He’s wise, funny and so utterly stuck in his unsatisfying life that it’s heartbreaking. Brendan’s a guy who’s way too smart to be living at home, yet can’t find his way to a better life.
Carney wrote this movie as a to vicariously accomplish all the cool things he wanted to do as kid, and “Sing Street” bubbles over with the hope and optimism of youth. He also captures the eccentricities of ’80s, without mocking the clothes or the music. He obviously loves this stuff, and that love finds its way into the characters and bleeds into every beat of the story.
I have to issue a warning: If you’ve ever wanted to start a band or write your own songs, yet have too many responsibilities and too little time, you may want to skip “Sing Street.” Because this movie WILL inspire you to throw all that other stuff out the window and start a band. I mean, I had to work hard to keep myself from picking up my guitar and playing along while I was watching. But this movie is so wonderfully infectious, it’s nearly irresistible.
”Sing Street” is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, and I feel really sorry I missed it while it was in theaters. Thankfully it’s on DVD now, and trust me, it’s worth seeking out. It’s funny, warm-hearted and inspiring, and is the antidote to summer blockbuster burn-out. Check it out ASAP!