Friday, March 11, 2011

Falling Slowly: Analyzing the Irish Musical Once

            Once is an indie Irish musical that does not exactly seem like blockbuster material. It is an indie starring two current no-names in the acting business. The entire movie did not use the hi-tech devices that many big movies use. It had practically no formal trailer on television. But it was a phenomenon. It garnered laudations from the likes of Joel Siegel. It was even rated as the best movie of 2006 by Roger Ebert, one of the most respected movie critics ever. It was certainly not because of the high budget direction or incredible acting by its two leads. It was one of the best movies because it was not just a movie, but it was an experience.

            The story focuses on two nameless characters: a Guy and a Girl. The former is a broken-hearted, Hoover-fixer, guitar-playing guy, while the other is a single mother who can sing and play the piano. They first meet when the Girl sees the Guy playing his guitar on the sidewalk. Instantly, the audience could feel the chemistry between this Guy and this Girl. This connection between the two characters shaped the movie. As their relationship grew more and more, the audience’s relationship with these two characters grew too. This chemistry onscreen may have been helped by the relationship growing between the two actors in this movie. It was not a fake relationship either. There was not any love at first sight, seeing as both had former lovers whom they would soon go back to. The relationship between them was realistic. They had fun, but they also were angry with each other at times. The camera work made their relationship all the more true because the camera made the audience feel like an onlooker of their relationship.

            However, the most defining characteristic of this movie was the music. The music was so touching in itself. The lyrics were pure, while the melody was nothing less than dulcet. When the characters sang these songs in the movie, the music became so much more surreal. These songs took place in the Guy’s room, on the sidewalk, in a music store, and in a recording studio. The surroundings contributed to the beauty of the music. Each note was sung with such raw emotion, and at least one characteristic of their surroundings emphasized this feeling. It could have been as little as a quick peek at the music store owner to the darkness of a room.

            Why is this then not a movie, but rather an experience? You cannot expect anything from this movie. You have to watch without any preconceptions. The movie should not live up to your expectations, but rather change them. You cannot think about what will happen, but rather let it be. You have to let the movie change you. It will not change everyone the same way. It could do something as big as help someone out of a depressing time. But most changes are subtle. It changed me from the opening song Falling Slowly. It showed how much impact one person you hardly know could have on you. As the song says, “I don’t know you but I want you all the more for that…”

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