Review: Once
Penguin February 19th, 2008
Rating: 3/4 stars
Once is about an aspiring musician (Glen Hansard) who meets a girl (Markéta Irglová) while performing on the street. The narrative is unique in the sense that most of the story unfolds with very little dialogue. Instead, we have a lot of heart felt songs by the musician.
Since there’s so much music, the film really pivots on the quality of it. Luckily, the music is good. There are times where it feels like certain songs may go on for a little too long, but it’s acceptable because it’s delivered with so much honesty. And that’s what makes the film shine. The characters are simple, but they’re not one dimensional. They’ve been damaged in previous relationship and you really want them someone to connect to. Whether it be to each other or to their exs.
The only problem with the film is that it sometimes looks like a series of music videos strung together. Granted, the music is good, but the videos them selves aren’t particularly interesting. Thus, you get a little bored towards the half-way point. Luckily, the movie comes in at 86 minutes, so it doesn’t get as irritating as it could be.
The movie definitely looks indie. There are times when it’s obviously shot on DV, but that’s ok.
Bottom line: If you like the music, you’ll enjoy the movie.
-Penguin
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