Sing Street
Director: John Carney
Talent: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Aidan Gillen
Release Date: 17th March 2016
For awkward Dublin 15 year old Conor (Walsh-Peelo), music serves as the perfect distraction from the caustic effects of marital discord and the 1980s economic downturn on his home life. That, paired with a desire to woo the proto-manic pixie dream girl Raphina (Boynton), inspires Conor to form an ad hoc band with his classmates. The group – aided by Conor’s sardonic, hash-smoking, older brother Brendan (Reynor) – embark on a clumsy but endearing musical journey. Their infectious original songs channel Duran Duran, The Cure, A-ha, etc., making for heart-warming and nostalgia-inducing viewing.
Director John Carney has successfully settled into his own Irish movie-musical niche, with each venture in the genre as much of a rousing success as the last. Sing Street, which is partially set in Carney’s secondary school alma mater, is no exception. Carney expertly blends treacly yet heartwarming storytelling with a bare knuckle portrayal of Ireland in 1985.
Words: Eva Short
