Sing Street Review!
Sing Street is a film about love, brothers, family, and will leave you feeling a mixture of emotions of the positive light after living through this incredible coming of age story. This was the type of film where I had to watch it multiple times to truly appreciate. Not because it was difficult to understand, or used ground breaking cinema techniques, but because it was the type of story that grew on me over time, and the type of movie where you'll like it even more with every watch.
Sing Street takes place in Dublin, and is about a lot of things that happen in your life. The biggest of such are dreams of leaving your pitiful little drowsy town. But this film is so much more than just getting away and finding your dream. It's about finding yourself, and it may have happened by accident when you form a band to impress a girl, but Connor (AKA Cosmo) finds his niche in music. He loses himself in it every time trouble at home, or at school, comes knocking at his door. It's an escape, and probably one of the purest films I've seen to tackle how music changes people.
One of the aspects about this film that I noticed in first viewing, and loved upon repeated viewing, is the fact that the kids who form and make the band progressively gets better as the film goes on. You can tell that Cosmo isn't going to win any awards for his singing at the beginning of the film with their first song, but after writing music and making a decent number of music videos you can tell that his singing had evolved over the film as well as the other band members talent. This type of progression is almost uncommon in films, and usually brushed under the rug, but every time I watch Sing Street it really makes me smile as I watched these young talented artists at work trying to perfect what they love.
Speaking of love, the general through-line for the whole film is that Cosmo is in love with the girl across the street, Raphina. Unlike most films these days, Raphina actually has character. You can tell that she hides behind a mask of being a model, and dating older guys, but what's so beautiful about this character is that you get to see her mask crack as you see Raphina reacting to Cosmo's lyrics. You can tell that they have deeply affected her. Towards the ending you'll also get to see her change in mood. She's a little depressing and reserved at the beginning. You get the impression that she's had a hard life, and doesn't want people in, but by the end of the film she's different...as if she was being herself for the first time in years, and really watching that unfold on screen after multiple viewing only enhanced my experience with the film, allowing me to connect more with the characters.
The songs themselves are catchy, and just like Cosmo getting better at singing over the course of the film the songs get more interesting and daring. The kids experiment with some songs based on how they're feeling, other songs are a little more modern and upbeat, like my favorite "Drive it Like You Stole it." The songs and music was put together so lovingly, and I'm sure anyone who sees this film will be addicted to their soundtrack, humming and singing along in their cars.
Something I didn't notice on my first viewing was just how important Cosmo's brother's storyline is in this film. When I first saw it I didn't totally get it, but after seeing it again and again I'm finding new layers to these characters that I didn't see before. This film is as much about Cosmo and his brother as it is to Cosmo and Raphina as it is to Cosmo and his band. This film balances these three main threads so well that I have to applaud them. The more I watch how the brother silently watches his brother do better than him the more I feel bad, and love, his character. His arc coalesces in two scenes, one in a brilliant speech involving a "Jet Engine" and another at the end where his actions may roll a tear down your cheek.
No matter what mood you're in Sing Street will make you feel emotions. Whether they are tears of sadness, joy, or maybe laughter as you watch these kids try and find their place in this world you will leave this film satisfied and full of emotion. It's one of the better underrated films of last year, and is truly one of the few special films that gets better with each viewing. Do yourself a favor and either watch this beautiful film for the first time, or experience it again while hugging a pillow, because Sing Street will fill your body with fluffiness and tears of joy.
A
