Lovely, engaging musical

Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2016)

In spite of my strong dislike of the director's inexplicably beloved Once, I decided to watch his most recent musical, Sing Street, and found it better in every way, with an engaging story, interesting characters, and first rate songs.
The story, which takes place in the 1980s, follows a boy who falls for a preternaturally composed girl and starts a band just to impress her (and get her to perform in his videos). After a shaky start, he begins to absorb the musical influences of the age (dressing in emulation of a series of rock stars) and creates genuinely entertaining music.
My only real objection to anything in the film is the weirdly quick improvement in the band. In something like the second or third rehearsal the protagonist suddenly develops a much better singing voice and the ability to play guitar. It's as though the movie just cut a month out of the story, and it's a bit aggravating. But everything else about this is terrific.