Like the best songs

Rating: 6/10 (13 October 2007)

The story of this little film, made on a budget of fifty quid, apparently, (most of the crew were doing it as a favour) is the stuff of film itself. One of the few prints made was playing at little cinemas round Ireland as a double bill with the two stars in performance, who then sold as many CDs as possible at each gig. This was 'big time'; until, at least, the film was shown at the Dublin Film Festival, and one of the Sundance Festival committee members happened to wander in while on holiday, saw it, fell for it, and took it home to Sundance, where it won a big gong. In a step further away from 'real life', the lead's band found themselves opening for Bob Dylan. I can imagine it: "Uh, hi. This is Bob" "Bob who?"
Glen Hansard, front man of The Frames for 17 years and 'the guitarist' in The Commitments was approached by Carney after a Frames gig in Dublin in 2005, with an idea about building a story around some songs. And in fact, the film remains true to that idea: a few times, the guy, instead of speaking to the girl, picks up his battered guitar and croons, or yells, an 'impromptu' verse. So in a way, it's as much a traditional musical as an Elvis vehicle. None of the gloss of Hollywood production in this, though, and everyone was playing a version of themselves with only the most rudimentary idea of a script, or a good deal of improvising. That can have its drawbacks: the two central characters are so natural that they sometimes seem to forget to include the camera when talking, so much of their dialogue is lost, especially in the street scenes.
The Guy is working in his father's hoover repair shop and busking on the side, while nursing a broken heart after his girl ran off to London. The Girl is a Czech immigrant with a little girl, a mother to support and a fighting spirit. They are obviously wrong for each other, but their little orbits keep colliding, and they make beautiful music. Literally. Others play their parts - fellow musicians, the bank manager, but it's a tale of loving and longing which never really finishes. Just like the best songs. CLIFF HANLEY