Sing Street (2016)

Review

106min

Genre:       Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance

Director:    John Carney

Cast:         Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Jack Reynor, Lucy Boynton…and more

Writer:      John Carney

-Synopsis-

In 1980s recession-hit Ireland, a teenager rebels against society’s norms and escapes family strife by forming a “New-Romantic” band to impress a girl in an 80s coming-of-age musical comedy from the director of ‘Begin Again’.

Perhaps a natural progression from previous musically centred films like last year’s ‘Begin Again’ and the 2007’s Oscar-winning ‘Once’; writer/director John Carney, himself the former bassist of Irish band “The Frames”, crafts his personal unapologetically warm tribute to the power of music in shaping an upbringing in this uplifting nostalgic comedy… with a hint of drama.

Young Ferdia Walsh-Peelo stars as Conor “Cosmo” Lalor; a young lad experiencing life’s growing pains who forms an evolving pop band with the help of his fellow school misfits, in an effort to make an older independent girl more than his just his muse and escape the grip of a bleak 1980s Dublin.

“Conor” is guided in the ways of pop by his “Yoda-like” stoner older brother, who encourages his “futurist” approach of “out with the old and in with the new”, rather ironic considering that the entire appeal of ‘Sing Street’ is largely based on nostalgia. There’s also an amusing band dynamic and a touching “Lennon & McCartney” element as well.

‘Sing Street’ shares more than just a couple of cast members with 1990’s ‘The Commitments’  but while it doesn’t have the same edge as Alan Parker’s working-class classic, it does boast a more family-friendly version of the same Irish charm and John Carney effectively combines that with elements from any number of 80s American teen angst dramedies like ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘The Breakfast Club’.

What separates ‘Sing Street’ from many other recent films set in the 80s, and indeed most modern coming-of-age comedy/dramas, is the attention to detail when it comes to both the music and the production design, this really looks like a film made in the British & Irish isles in the mid 1980s, without stepping over the line into parody.

The soundtrack, which features everything from Duran Duran and Hall & Oates to The Cure and Motörhead, is as much a part of the narrative and “inspiration” for the “Sing Street” band as it is a nostalgic background to the story and a way to get the audience toe-tappin’.

While ‘Sing Street’ is no insightful look at the struggles of growing up in 1980s Ireland or a profound look at artistic integrity from a youthful perspective; it is an optimistic crowd-pleasing musical comedy about puppy love and the joyous power that music holds over the young, before reality and cynicism take over.

The Bottom Line…

A nostalgia-fuelled feelgood musical comedy with unmistakable Irish charm, ‘Sing Street’ is a perfect dose of youthful optimism to cure a case of the cynicism blues and an experience which may not move but will certainly entertain you.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Commitments (1991)

A group of soul-obsessed Irish lads with a dream hold auditions to form the “world’s hardest working band”, inspired by black American soul they form Dublin’s own 1980s “super-group” in this classic Alan Parker working-class musical comedy.

Directed by Alan Parker and starring Robert Arkins, Andrew Strong and Colm Meaney among others.

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