The musical for people who don't like musicals

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2010)

In 2007 a small, indie film from Ireland was able to dominate the critical world, and from a small budget made $20 Million worldwide. It was so successful in the critical world that it was in the top 10 best films of 2007 lists. It has a high rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Once is a love story between "Guy" (Glen Hansard), a busker on the streets of Dublin, and "Girl" (Markéta Irglová), a flower seller from the Czech Republic. The two have an instead connection when "Guy" plays his own songs and "Girl" asks him about them. They make beautiful music together and "Girl" encourages "Guy" to make a professional demo and move to London to re-connect with his ex-girlfriend. The two are drawn closer when performing music, but both have complex pasts.
What must have made this film a success is it's quirky spirit, having a mix of drama and wit. It attempts to be the musical for people who do not like musicals. People do not just burst into song and the music has a folk/indie sound to it. The director John Carney keeps a low-key tone throughout. The pacing is slow and the feel is natural. The music comes out naturally and sounds like something good songwriters would write. Carney keeps characters down to a minimum, with the focus being on "Guy" and "Girl". He wanted to make it as a character pieces and the characters are fully drawn out. This is a down to earth film. Carney even makes Dublin a character in his film, showing that Dublin is a lovely historical city with a charming character to match many European cities. The song too are very memorable and people who like good singer-songwriters will enjoy them.
The acting from the main two actors is very good. They are believable and both offer a low-key, organic performances. This is even more impressive because there are not professional actors, and Carney does get a lot out of them. They are professional singers and their ability shines through.
Despites the positives involving the direction and the acting, the film itself was a hollow and felt like it was lacking a spark. They was not much of a drive in its story and made a film a little disengaging at times.
But overall a worthy film with a charming character, but not everyone will like it.