Even though A24 is really pushing Stop Making Sense as the preeminent movie built around music, and Taylor Swifts Eras Tour is ready to take the movie landscape by storm, I maintain that John Carney is at the movie/music mountaintop. No one better defines people’s relationships to music than Carney, especially how a song can emotionally connect us to each other. Flora and Son isn’t the masterpiece that Once is, but it still proves that even in lesser films, Carney captures the fusion of music and movie magic better than anyone.
That’s certainly easier when Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson is your star. Hewson plays Flora, the pure definition of a hot mess in the Irish dictionary. She skirts by with small au pair jobs, splitting time taking care of her son Max (Oren Kinlan) with her ex Ian (Jack Reynor), but not having a good relationship with really anyone in her life. Desperate for a change, she pulls out a broken guitar from the trash, fixes it, and starts taking online guitar lessons from Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a talented but middling musician in California.
Carney’s previous movies have been more timeless in nature, but with Flora and Son, he intentionally goes for something more modern. Turns out his magic tricks work today as they do in any era. That’s because foundationally the music is always front and center in Carney’s stories. There’s a little more explanation first, a music theory lesson if you will for the kids, as writer/director Carney gives JGL these incredible monologues about how important each element is (lyrics, chords, tone) to making a song special. Then, when Flora and Jeff’s lessons really connect, the screen between them dissolves away and Jeff shows up in Ireland to sing his duet with Flora. In those moments, theory becomes reality, and the power of music transcends screens, phones, or music videos to become something special to the person experiencing it. Flora takes these experiences and sees her son has more EDM like modern music tendencies, and tries to bridge the gap between her music taste and his. And just like in Carney’s other films, it really doesn’t matter what year it is what technology is around: music helps lost souls find connection that was once not possible before, as Flora and Son see each other in ways they never had before.
Though the blue collar/working musician is always a part of Carney’s movies, Flora and Son really gives insight to the audience into the day to day struggles of a working class Irish family. Poor Max is definitely an afterthought to both his parents, splitting time between houses as the former couple tears each other down at each chance they get. He only gets attention when Flora or Ian want to show them something cool that THEY did, not really asking any questions about his goals or dreams. Aspirations for families like this are really simple ones: try to find a small purpose in life, and maybe someone to love along the way before it’s too late. If Flora and Max really paid attention, they would both see how similar they are; both are purposeless and directionless, with Max resorting to petty crime out of boredom and Flora chasing the high of a great night out despite her parental responsibilities. They see each other as an obstacle, not a building block which sadly can happen when surrounded by constant reminders of poverty, putting them into the justice system doom cycle that is really hard to escape. Through music, Carney gives sparks of life to the mother and son, helping transform their relationship slowly through more selfless acts of real love. And yet, Flora and Son, like Carney’s other films, reminds us that we live in a real world with consequences too, so its important to find clarity and understanding before you can chase the big dream.
And there you have it. Put on your cool shows Taylor Swift and the Talking Heads. Make another rapping sensation Lin Manuel. I’m content over here in John Carney world, where music is really celebrated for its amazing ability to take someone somewhere special 3 and half minutes at a time. At this moment, this is my special song. What’s yours?