The year is 1985 and times are tough in Dublin as many Irish are emigrating to London in hopes of finding work and a better life. In Sing Street, a teenage boy makes the most out of unfortunate circumstance, forming a band to impress an enigmatic aspiring model in hopes she'll agree to be in one of their music videos.
John Carney writes and directs to great effect, maintaining focus on fully fleshed characters, the classic coming-of-age story, and some entertaining original music inspired by various 80's hits. The film's music isn't just catchy though, each song is deeply rooted in the main characters themselves with meaningful lyrics and inventive arrangements including the synth-pop song "Riddle of the Model", the feel-good tune "Up", the melancholy love ballad"To Find You", and the infectiously up-beat "Drive It Like You Stole It" to name a few. I'd actually be hard-pressed to name a song I didn't enjoy, and hope that one or two of them garners some appreciation from the Academy.
Carney's screenplay captures the essence of adolescence in his protagonist as we see Conor shed various identities hoping to discover himself. Carney gets that Conor is in it for the girl, grasps that music is a vessel to express one's self and that's exactly what makes Sing Street so fantastic, Carney understands the adolescent mind. One scene that comes to mind as a standout is Conor's vision of a music video the band is making and we see the depiction of his dream life; his parents are happily married, he gets the girl, and life is a smooth ride.
The casting director should also be commended for finding such incredible inexperienced performers. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo makes his feature film debut as Conor and proves to be a very talented individual with an exceptional singing voice and solid acting chops. Lucy Boynton's Raphina is as captivating as she is mysterious and one of the film's highlight performances. Boston and Walsh-Peelo have an exuberant spark between them so you can't help but root for their relationship to work out.
Jack Reynor plays Conor's older brother and music/romantic mentor Brendan and he runs with it. Walsh-Pello and Reynor's scenes are some of the standout moments in the film aside from the band's music videos and the moments between Conor and Raphina. Downtown Abbey's Maria Doyle Kennedy and Game of Thrones' Aidan Gillen have nice supporting roles as Conor and Brendan's squabbling parents and Don Wycherley's depiction of a despicable principal is diabolical in every sense of the word.
The band itself is made up of of a business-smart manager and cameraman Darren, the self-reflective Eamon who can play just about any instrument, keyboardist Ngig, and wacky brothers Garry and Larry portrayed by Ben Carolan, Mark McKenna, Percy Chambruka, Karl Rice, and Conor Hamilton respectively.
Sing Street debuted earlier this year in very limited release, but recently made the jump to the home media market so that's why I'm just now reviewing it. You can stream it on any Digital-HD provider or buy the Blu-Ray, but trust me it's well worth the investment. Sing Street is simply a film for everyone and I can say the end result is a remarkably delightful film I could't help but fall in love with.
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