Not as brilliant as the lavish praise would suggest but still natural, charming and refreshingly free of sentiment

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2008)

In Dublin, a guy works in his father's vacuum-cleaner repair shop while also pursuing his musical aspirations by busking on the streets. Late one night he meets an immigrant girl selling the Big Issue who likes his songs but also has a vacuum cleaner that needs fixing. He helps her out and gets to known her, finding she has talent on the piano as well. He has an girlfriend that has recently moved to London without him, while the girl has a husband back in Czechoslovakia and a young child with her in Dublin. While she helps him musically look to achieve his dreams, something more intimate and personal may or may not be developing between them.
I first heard of this film when it showed up on various "best of the year" lists and added it to my rental list and got it posted to me shortly after the film won the Oscar for best song. The first thing that I should say that is that it is my opinion that this film has been overly praised  this is not a criticism of the film but rather a defence, because the hype works against this film being what it is. That is to say, Once is a very low budget film that has it strength in the general charm and sweetness but it is not, to my mind, a fantastic film and certainly its inclusion on IMDb's top 250 just further serves to take away any remaining relevance I give to that list.
Narratively the film is simple as it mostly trades on the songs and characters, with the love story very much unspoken and on the edges of the picture all the time. In regards specific actions there are few and the characters don't develop much beyond where they are shortly after they are introduced at the start of the film. What tends to hook the audience (and me) is the way that the film is so raw, natural and charming and, in this way, it flies in the face of many mainstream romances with their contrived stories and sickly sentimentality. This "breath of fresh air" quality helps it a great deal and the Irish charm does easily appeal to many audience sectors I believe, because some of their work is done beforehand with their idealised view of artists within that country! That shouldn't take anything away from Hansard and Irglová, both of whom are natural and convincing as people  although the slight downside of this is that Hansard's "Guy" is a bit of a jerk early on, while it can be painful to see them never say what is in the background. Carney's direction of his script is solid; OK it is all very shaky and low-budget but it fits the material while also being admirable for making the film despite the challenges.
Overall then, this is a charming little modern love story that is refreshingly natural and free of sentiment. It is not perfect and it won't knock you off your feet in the way that many reviews may lead you to believe but it is certainly a lovely little film that is warm, musical and charming.