Once (2007)  

Review: written Mar 2014

Once Upon A Time In Dublin

I watched this film on a recommendation from a friend.. it did not have obvious immediate appeal, and as I started watching it, it was clearly made on a budget, in a city I was unfamiliar with and with characters I was unsure about. This is no amateur movie though, and all of those concerns were blown out of the water as the movie progressed - the core desires and concerns of these people were universal, the city had both its own character and yet played an `everywhere', a recognisable inner city anyone could relate to. The songs were engaging because they were heartfelt, and always in the context of the movie. In short, it was heartwarming, thought provoking, surprising and lyrical.

The two characters at the core of the story find a bond in their music - they share a piece of their soul through the music, and their time together helps each of them find their next step in life. And that is really about it, story-wise. The style has the hand held reality of Before Sunrise / Before Sunset, with a similar sense of apparent freewheeling improvisation - but like the songs, this is carefully crafted, and does not cheat on your growing care for the characters by having an unreal Hollywood style ending. To say hand held and `reality imbued' might make you concerned it is lacking ambition - far from it. The director has some real bravura moments, albeit low key ones, such as the hand held camera tracking a walk back from the shop listening to a song, oblivious to the world around her, or the final shot in the window.

Labelled a musical, I watched this as a drama about two people and their interactions, which just happens to have a lot of songs in it. Don't be put off by the musical label if that’s not your thing. Basically, it manages the trick of being both charming and grounded. If you like movies without any flash and bang, a movie about characters and how they relate rather than the plot they drive, then try Once. It's a movie you'll want to see twice.