Once Again, John Carney Successfully Plays Your Heartstrings

Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 
"Flora and Son"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Ever since writer-director John Carney made the luminous musical-drama, “Once,” he’s built up a strong reputation when it comes to giving you a film that provides beautiful songs, memorable characters, and an uplifting experience.  He’s consistent in making sure that you leave the theater in a state of elation.

Carney finds this kind of success for the fourth consecutive time with his latest film, “Flora and Son,” bringing you on a journey of the characters’ self-discovery as he meshes his signature love for music and film.

In Dublin, Flora (Eve Hewson), is a single mother who’s trying to keep her son, Max (Orén Kinlan), out of trouble.  With the intent on finding him a hobby, Flora salvages an old guitar and brings it home for him.  As Max intends to pursue music in his own way, Flora takes an opportunity to learn the guitar.  When she begins taking online lessons from a Los Angeles-based guitar instructor, Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Flora will find a passion for music that she never knew she had.

Hewson gives a superb performance as a mother who exhibits the tough work that goes into raising a child.  We see the hard exterior that her character has developed as she does what she can to get by and try to keep her son on a respectable path.  Aside from the emotional aspects of her character, Hewson also displays a lot of humor with Flora, exhibiting terrific comedic delivery with some of the film’s funniest lines, no matter the character with whom she interacts.  It’s an inspirational performance that shows how newfound talent can come out of hard work, with Hewson expressing the dedication and appreciation for this art form.  Over the course of four movies, Carney hasn’t reused any of his leads, showing that he can get a fine performance out of anyone with whom he collaborates, and his work with Hewson adds another engaging performance to his repertoire.

Gordon-Levitt couldn’t be better as Flora’s instructor.  The way in which he interacts with her shows so much of who he is.  While a lot of his screen time involves him being on Flora’s laptop, everything he says and feels comes through, as if he’s right there in the room with Flora.  In these scenes, Gordon-Levitt has several impactful moments where he explains the techniques of music and guitar-playing to Flora, and even though he shows a teacher-ly patience, we still feel that intense connection that he has to music and how much it means to him.  However, there are some moments when he’s there with Flora, mostly when they sing together as she imagines him there with her, and the way in which they’re able to connect through music shows their strong chemistry.

Although the songs from Carney and Gary Clark (who collaborated with Carney on the songs for “Sing Street”) aren’t quite as memorable as those found in Carney’s other films, Carney’s screenplay offers a narrative that’s presented in typically uplifting fashion.  Just as he’s done in his previous movies, Carney finds a new angle from which to present the familial and romantic bonds that can be found within a common love for music.  He has a talent for writing endearing interactions between his characters that really get you invested in what they’re trying to accomplish.  He gives equal amount of dramatic heft to both the family story and the love story, all while including some insightful views about music, which offer some of the most memorable dialogue that can be found in any Carney film.  As Carney has done in his other movies, he makes sure to offer enough time in between the songs for his characters to talk with each other and let us learn about who they are and who they want to be.

While Carney has shown an immense talent for staging energetic musical numbers, this film just has a couple, with the songs “I’ll Be the One” and “High Life” being the big song performances.  However, given the tone and story of the movie, the rest of the singing is appropriately more low-key and intimate throughout the rest of it.  With these kinds of moments, which are usually between Flora and Jeff, Carney uses this approach to absorb us in the growing connection between them as they practice their musical craft.  For the other parts of the film, Carney has a substantial handle on the humor and hardship that goes into Flora’s journey as she tries to find a balance between developing her creative side and maintaining her commitment to Max’s well-being.

Given how it’s been a little over seven years since we’ve had a film from Carney, it’s wonderful to have him back.  And, with “Flora and Son,” you’ll see that his penchant for heartfelt storytelling is still very much in tune.

Grade: A-