In ‘Once,’ music is a supporter, not a star

Published 11:53 am Monday, December 17, 2007

In the opening scene of “Once,” a street performer playing songs near an alley is trying to scare off an apparently dope-sick thief.

The singer fails: The dope fiend grabs the guitar case filled with the singer’s earnings and takes off running. The singer gives chase, eventually knocking the thief down to reclaim the cash. It turns out the two sort of know each other.

“How’s your ma?” the thief asks with a heavy Irish brogue.

“She’s dead, man,” the singer says, sounding frustrated.

“How’s your dad then?” the thief says.

It’s a witty and sad opening for the movie. “Once,” which is set for DVD release on Tuesday, is slow and elegant, a movie with more in common with “Lost in Translation” than “School of Rock.”

Now, to be clear, this is not a musical. It’s a “music film,” as Chicago Tribune movie critic Michael Phillips calls it. And yes, there’s a difference.

Songs are woven throughout “Once” in natural ways: A band rehearsal here, a recording session there. Nobody bursts into an orchestral tune over a spoonful of sugar or a rent check. It’s more realistic than that. And realism, really, seems to be the overarching characteristic of the movie, for better or worse.

The story centers on an unnamed singer-songwriter, played by Glen Hansard, who has lost the girl he loves. He plays music on the street when he’s not helping repair vacuums for his widowed father.

Those two different careers help him meet a Czech immigrant, played by Marketa Irglova. She’s a skilled pianist, estranged from her husband, and, as chance would have it, owns a broken vacuum. The two start hanging out. At one point, she plays a piece on the piano for him.

“It’s amazing,” he says. “Did you write that?”

“No, Mendelsohn did,” she says.

“It’s good,” he says.

This might seem a bit precious. It’s not.

“I think what people are connecting to with the film is the very homemade, down-and-dirty quality to it,” director John Carney — former bassist for the Frames — said in a behind-the-scenes featurette.

“It feels like something you made one evening,” Hansard agreed in the featurette.

It gets some of that realism from its actors. Hansard, for instance, quit school at age 13 to play music on street corners before starting the alternapop group the Frames, according to the All Music Guide. And Irglova got her start as a musician after meeting Hansard at a party organized by her parents.

The two co-wrote the songs for the movie and have received plenty of acclaim for their work. On Wednesday, “If You Want Me” and “Falling Slowly,” two clear highlights, were shortlisted as possible Oscar nominees for best original song.

Despite the accolades, none of this stuff really soars. The songs aren’t anthems and the movie isn’t particularly uplifting. Rather, it’s bare-bones stuff that impresses with its weight in a different way.

Seeing Hansard belting out a song on the corner connects at a visceral level, while slow-moving parts with Irglova penning and rehearsing lyrics are spare and moving.

In short, it’s a movie that showcases the more subtle pitch to life.

Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.