There is a certain stigma about being a “critic.” Most think that to be a true critic you must cut yourself off from personal opinions and biases to truly look at and rate whatever your subject may be. Movies must be looked at in terms of cinematography, score and writing instead of the arbitrary “good” or “bad” based on emotion. The dictionary definition is to judge the “merits” of something and all of this is fine and dandy, but it’s not human.
It is impossible to completely cut off opinions and biases. Yes, a great critic will give a good review and hopefully it will help someone somewhere make a decision, but at the end of the day it’s still an opinion. So this week, I did something that I haven’t done yet since starting this movie-reviewing journey: I gave something a perfect score. Now, I’ve recently seen some fantastic movies with great acting and beautiful cinematography with a story that grabs you and won’t let go: movies like "Spotlight," "Room" and "The Revenant," but none of these have gotten a 10 out of 10. I wasn’t expecting this movie to get it either; I was fully expecting to write a quick little round–up of this review and another one of the decent suspense/horror film "Green Room" (7/10). Then I stepped into an empty theater on aMonday night to see this movie I was pretty excited for and left wanting to see it at least five more times. I had a human reaction to it and now we’re here, uncharted territory.
'Sing Street'- 10/10 !
So "Sing Street," where to begin? Well first of all, I have enjoyed John Carney’s two better-known directorial outings "Once" and "Begin Again." His movies have an intimate connection to music, either as major pieces of the story or just as perfectly timed backings to whatever is happening on screen. I am a sucker for a great soundtrack and he is a master at arranging them.
The film itself follows a teenage boy in Dublin in 1985 who decides to start a band to impress a girl. This sounds like a story you’ve heard before, I know, but this film makes it feel fresh and imaginative. This is a movie fully accepting of its roots and influences. The film focuses on the New Wave/New Romantic/Post-Punk-era of music (Duran Duran, the Cure, etc.). Rather than fill the soundtrack and film with covers, John Carney and the songwriters wrote some absolutely fantastic originals that I have now had stuck in my head since, especially the stand-out “Drive It Like You Stole It” (My theme for the summer). I immediately went home and downloaded the soundtrack so I could keep hearing the songs and that alone means the movie was a success. They knew what made movies like "Purple Rain," "School of Rock" and especially "The Commitments" (which this movie draws heavily on, in a good way) great and considered classics to this day and decided to make an almost perfect evolution of them.
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo as Conor/Cosmo is fantastic and his voice is something special for being as young as he is. He brings enough rawness and talent to make the music sound realistic while still being radio-ready, and his acting chops aren’t far behind. Jack Reynor and Lucy Boynton are both also great in their roles and these three make up the emotional heart of this movie. The great soundtrack coupled with a story that felt real and I connected with thanks to the acting and writing is why I feel so strongly about this movie. I was the only person in the theater that night and that’s sad because this is a special movie that deserves to be seen and, more importantly, felt. This movie made me feel all types of ways and I lost track of time; it didn’t feel like a short 105 minutes and that’s a testament to its quality. I’ve said this before, great movies transport you like few other things can and this movie is a perfect example. That’s why it sang its way into a perfect rating.
