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| Images courtesy of Apple Original Films |
Irish writer-director John Carney, best known for his
distinctly acoustic musical dramedies including the Academy Award winning Once,
Begin Again and Sing Street, is back with another snapshot of the
musical undercurrent of Dublin, Ireland in his Apple TV+ original film Flora
and Son. More or less a continuation
of the themes running through his previous features involving the musical
component of relationships and again focusing on the plight of the single
mother, the new Irish dramedy picks up where his previous three pictures left
off while giving character actress Eve Hewson a chance to shine in one of her
first leading roles on the silver screen.
Reuniting with songwriter Gary Clark who composed and
performed the music on Sing Street, this fairly lighthearted story of a
young single divorced nightclubbing mother named Flora (Eve Hewson) in a crummy
apartment complex living with her rambunctious troublemaking but musically
gifted son Max (Orén Kinlan) in between visits with professional musician dad
Ian (Jack Reynor from Midsommar).
After being booked for bad behavior again, the Gardai suggests Flora
help Max find a healthy creative hobby, leading her to find an old guitar which
she has refurbished before picking up online lessons from an LA based guitar
instructor named Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).
Soon she discovers Max is infatuated with composing his own electronic
music and eventually the idea comes up for mother and son to join forces for
their own unique musical act.
An easy-going thickly Irish musical dramedy lensed in panoramic
widescreen by John Conroy with writer-director John Carney co-writing the music
with Gary Clark, the character driven ensemble piece centered around Flora
features U2 frontman Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson playing the guitar herself and
doing all of her own singing on the soundtrack.
The same can be said for Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the guitar instructor
who also remarked it was his first time on film playing the guitar. Second to Gordon-Levitt, Jack Reynor is the
most recognizable face in the film as an estranged father figure who has moved
on but still cares for their son Max, played wonderfully by newcomer Orén
Kinlan. As with Once, the music propels
the story and informs the characters while never fully breaking into a full-blown
musical number until key dramatic points.
The result is a straightforward drama with a tendency to drift in and
out of song.
A simple minded and direct crowd pleaser, a snapshot of
modern Dublin and a continuation of the director’s own musical streak, Flora
and Son won’t wow viewership but it will put a smile on most people’s faces. The Irish accents, crass sass talking of the
film’s titular heroine and the languid narrative pacing won’t thrill
theatergoers though the preview audience laughed quite a bit before applauding
at the end. Intended for wide-release in
Ireland followed by a streaming release through Apple TV+, the film works best
as an at-home streamer trained on characters will giving subscribers something
sort of sweet natured. While debatably
the director’s Once still looms higher above this endeavor, its still
nice to see John Carney doing his thing again.
--Andrew Kotwicki
