Once

Composite Score: 85.93

Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh, Gerard Hendrick, Alaistair Foley, Geoff Minogue, Bill Hodnett, Danuse Ktrestova, Darren Healy, Mal Whyte, and Niall Cleary

Director: John Carney

Writer: John Carney

Genres: Drama, Music, Romance

MPAA Rating: R for language

Box Office: $20.94 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Once is John Carney’s film about a street musician and immigrant who meet in Dublin and spend a week together making music, falling in love, and working through their past hurts. It stars Glen Hansard as the nameless (it’s just Guy) guitarist and vacuum repairman with dreams of taking his talents to London and making it as a full-time musician alongside Markéta Irglová as the nameless (it’s just Girl) Czech immigrant who works as a housekeeper and flower seller to support her mother and daughter in Dublin, though she loves to play piano on her breaks at the local music shop. The story of their week together becomes a music-filled, heart-warming tale of the human spirit, dreams, and finding the right people to make them a reality. Filled with original songs performed by Hansard and Irglová, the film won the Oscar for Best Original Song for their song “Falling Slowly”.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Without Once and its indie success, I don’t think we get the big awards-bait musicals of the 2010s – Les Misérables, La La Land, and A Star Is Born being the best examples. Les Mis might be a bit of an outlier here, and I’m willing to allow that it could exist without Once, but I still see an argument there, but to watch Once and not see its obvious influences on both La La Land and the most recent incarnation of A Star Is Born is a level of media illiteracy that I don’t really have time to engage with here. Now, the question I know you’re asking now is how is Once’s impact on future cinematic successes a bad thing? Thanks for asking; I know that some people have themselves convinced that La La Land and A Star Is Born are bad films or unenjoyable or boring or something, so I’m afraid that if you fall into that wildly unfun camp, you probably will also find yourself not enjoying this one either. The music is fantastic, the will they/won’t they love story tugs at your heart just enough, and the film’s message of believing in your dreams remains uplifting either way, and I know there are some of you out there who just can’t imagine a world where two people learning about themselves in the midst of a situationship makes for good film, and for that I’m incredibly sorry.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                All the aforementioned reasons that people could find to critique this film are in fact what makes it one of the greats. Once embraces its role as a “modern” musical, offering catchy, memorable, and often haunting tunes that feel ripped from the mind of many a singer-songwriter without ever feeling too serious to be considered a musical – see Inside Llewyn Davis for an example that swings that way – dipping its toes into the near fantasy elements of plot devices and conveniences that have made audiences fall in love with such films for years now. Topping all of that off, you have two delightful performances from Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, in both their acting and music. Their ability to turn each scene into a potential confession of love or hard breakup without having to blatantly say anything speaks to their abilities as actors, and the amazing music that they make together (both on and off-screen) is undeniable evidence of their musical talents. All in all, it’s a film that reminds you why life is worth living and why movies are worth watching, even when everything doesn’t go exactly as you imagined in your head.

                John Carney struck gold with his indie hit, Once, rocketing to greatness on the backs of phenomenal music, an inspiring story, and two fantastic actors/musicians. Some of its nuances might not resonate with every audience member, but it captures the magic of musical films, love stories, and the potential for visual storytelling so well that I can’t imagine anyone having a terrible time with it. Currently, this film is available to rent on most streaming services if you’d like to check it out.