Once is the inspirational tale of two kindred spirits who find each other on the bustling streets of Dublin. One is a street musician who lacks the confidence to perform his own songs, and thus works part-time helping his father, who runs a small, vacuum cleaner repair business, whilst he dreams of landing a record deal. The other is a young mother trying to find her way in a strange new town. She works as a house cleaner in an upper-class residence and is struggling financially, yearning for a piano she cannot afford. As their lives intertwine, they discover each other's talents and push one another to realise what each had only dreamt about before. Once is the inspiring story of their budding love for one another.
Directed by
John Carney
Written by
John Carney
Starring
Glen Hansard (Guy); Markéta Irglová (Girl (as Marketa Irglova)); Hugh Walsh (Timmy Drummer); Gerard Hendrick (Lead Guitarist (as Gerry Hendrick)); Alaistair Foley (Bassist); Geoff Minogue (Eamon); Bill Hodnett (Guy's Dad); Danuse Ktrestova (Girl's Mother); Darren Healy (Heroin Addict); Mal Whyte (Bill); Marcella Plunkett (Ex Girlfriend); Niall Cleary (Bob); Wiltold Owski (Man watching TV); Krzysztos Tlotka (Man watching TV); Tomek Glowacki (Man watching TV). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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Singing minus the soul and the smile
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Limited Recommendation
There are a few things I liked about Once - Guy seems like an alright kind of guy, and Marketa seems like an alright kind of girl. *Plot revelations* I liked the fact that Marketa decided to give it a second chance with her husband and I liked the fact that Guy didn't walk away when Marketa said no to sleeping with him. But those things said, I don't really want to sit down and watch a film for one-and-a-half hours that features someone that's only 'alright'. I want to meet someone different, I want to be introduced to a character with a fresh perspective on life, I want to watch characters with smiles on their faces; smiles that are able to radiate through to my soul. I don't want to sit down and wallow in someone else's melancholy, at least not without being pointed firmly in the right direction at the end of it all. I also didn't like the level of swearing in the film and the way it was passed off almost as some kind of quirky trendy character trait - I can meet that person if I pop down to my own local pub for a pint (as nice and 'alright' as that person may be). All in all I didn't think Once was an overtly bad production, and I know many people will find a connection with the film on one level or another, but it could so easily have been so much more.
