So sweet

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2016)

John Carney now has a trilogy of these "let's make music and fall in love" movies. Sure, they're mostly the same, but they're all delightful. This one is probably my least favorite of the three, but it's still very enjoyable. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo plays Conor, a teen boy with a dissolving family, who ends up in a new school when his parents can't afford a better one. He's immediately the focus of bullying, but that doesn't matter at all when he runs into Raphina (Lucy Boynton, a born star if there ever was one). He lies to her, telling her he's in a band, so he and his friends quickly form one. This film is all about the romance, unlike the previous two films where the romance developed from the music. Yet the love of music is a strong theme in this one, too, with Conor's older brother (Jack Reynor) tutoring him passionately on the subject. And the music the band, Sing Street, ends up creating is excellent, at least if you're cool with '80s music. Carney's trilogy probably represents the last three times I felt I had to buy a soundtrack as soon as I left the theater. I'd be perfectly fine with Carney just hitting these same notes in the future, because they're lovely.