once
ONCE (dir. John Carney, 2006):
the musical i wish i made. almost. great music and a love story. the music was seamlessly woven into the plot, which is always good for a musical. no singing fantasy sequences or asides here. the main guy is a musician, so the music is his. it's the anti-broadway musical--small, indie, intimate. the relationship was...one of those frustrating things (e.g. Jim/Pam in The Office). You just want it to happen, and in defiance of viewer expectations, it never does. It's a minor letdown, I suppose. And also: props to Glen Hansard for embodying sincerity on screen. It's really affecting.
But I had some issues with Once. Mostly that....it had a bit of extra weight, since essentially it was a vehicle for the songs. Certain sequences played out more like fluffy music videos than a solid narrative. Granted, the lyrics speak volumes toward the story/emotions of the characters (the ol' "if you can't speak, sing" deal). But it'd be even better if the visuals added another layer. But it ends up just feeling like "fluff." For example: when they listen to the first demo of the tape. I went with my brother, who, when the tape was done and the producer said "let's go listen in the car," whispered to me "so we can drive someplace and do something indie to the music." and that's exactly what happened. they just hung out on a beach while the music played. little things like that got to me. It might just be jealousy, or it might be that I need another viewing to really look at it, but I'm going to go with my gut here.
Final Grade: B+
the musical i wish i made. almost. great music and a love story. the music was seamlessly woven into the plot, which is always good for a musical. no singing fantasy sequences or asides here. the main guy is a musician, so the music is his. it's the anti-broadway musical--small, indie, intimate. the relationship was...one of those frustrating things (e.g. Jim/Pam in The Office). You just want it to happen, and in defiance of viewer expectations, it never does. It's a minor letdown, I suppose. And also: props to Glen Hansard for embodying sincerity on screen. It's really affecting.
But I had some issues with Once. Mostly that....it had a bit of extra weight, since essentially it was a vehicle for the songs. Certain sequences played out more like fluffy music videos than a solid narrative. Granted, the lyrics speak volumes toward the story/emotions of the characters (the ol' "if you can't speak, sing" deal). But it'd be even better if the visuals added another layer. But it ends up just feeling like "fluff." For example: when they listen to the first demo of the tape. I went with my brother, who, when the tape was done and the producer said "let's go listen in the car," whispered to me "so we can drive someplace and do something indie to the music." and that's exactly what happened. they just hung out on a beach while the music played. little things like that got to me. It might just be jealousy, or it might be that I need another viewing to really look at it, but I'm going to go with my gut here.
Final Grade: B+
posted by js munoz at
12:24 PM
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