Beautifully Made

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2017)

Sing Street is art-house, indie fair put into a digestible format for even the most casual movie fan. Sing Street revolves around Conor Lalor (Walsh-Pelo), a 14 year old boy being forced to change schools during his family's financial and personal struggles. The plot of the film kicks off as Conor is leaving his new school and becomes fascinated by Raphina (Lucy Boynton,) a girl who sits across the street from his new school and smokes everyday. After Raphina mentions she's a model, Conor (without actually being in a band) asks her to be in his band's music video in order to impress her. Conor then goes on a hunt for musically inclined kids in his school to start a band.
Sing Street on the surface is a fairly simple premise about the lengths a boy will go to impress a girl. Where Sing Street excels is in it's execution of its sub-plots, subtle themes, and charismatic performances by its three leads. Jack Reynor as Conor's older brother Brendan is the stand out of the film, as his combination of charisma and chemistry with Walsh-Pelo made every scene they shared together a highlight of the 106 minute run time. In general the chemistry between Raphina and Conor, and Brendan and Conor is the films strongest asset and makes what could have been a simple coming of age story into one of the strongest films of 2016.
John Carney deserves credit for balancing comedy, family drama, coming of age, a love story, and the music brilliantly. Sing Street is an under-watched indie darling with strong performances, acceptable pacing, and strong sub-plots about finding yourself, chasing dreams, and family relationships. My only complaint is at times the thick Irish accents throughout the film made it hard to hear some dialogue. Sing Street has far more mass appeal than most indie's and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys strong dramas.
Final Grade: A-