Sing Street

Except for one major inconsistency, this film was pure magic.
Poor Conor Lawlor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) starts a new school, thanks to his parents' money struggles. Brother Baxter (Don Wycherley), the principal, is downright cruel. For whatever ridiculous reason, the school has a rule where black shoes must be worn but Conor doesn't have any and his parents have no money for new ones, so he is forced to walk barefoot. Worse, when he wears make-up to school, Brother Baxter shoves his head underneath the sink to wash it off, which is incredibly abusive. Yet, they didn't seem to care about abuse to child back then, in Ireland. Oh yes, this film takes place in Dublin in 1985, with the country in dire straights, jobs being lost left and right.
Now, while Conor is upset about his new school, something manages to brighten his day. A girl is standing across the street and it is love at first sight. Raphina (Lucy Boynton, looking like a young Felicity Jones) wants to be a model and doesn't give Conor much of her time, though when he lies and announces that he is in a band, it whets her appetite.
Which means that in order for Conor to see her again, he needs to create a band, which he manages to do. The little redhead, who befriended him, Darren (Ben Carolan) is the manager and together, they gather some musicians, including the incredibly talented Eamon (Mark McKenna). They start with covers but thanks to the advice of Conor's stoner big brother, Brendan (Jack Reynor, the real breakout star of the film), they begin to write their own songs, which are just lovely, truly.
The band uses Raphina in their music videos and she is moved by their music, and the band continues to grow and get better. Conor uses everything around for inspiration for his songs, including the nasty Brother Baxter and his parents (Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy, the nasty first Mrs. Bates in Downton Abbey) arguments and eventual separation, which Brendan completely predicted.
But there is a problem. Raphina is seeing someone else, who is much older and does fulfill his promise and takes her to London, though that doesn't work out. Conor is so upset that she left without saying a word to him, he barely shows emotion when Raphina admits that her ex hit her.
But when she shows up at their first gig, as they give Brother Baxter what he deserves, all is forgiven. With Brendan's help, they escape to Wales on Grandad's little boat, the waves spraying them as they sail away.
The film is truly excellent, except for the inconsistency I mentioned, Eamon's mother told him that his band couldn't practice on Saturdays because of his small weekend job, but they film their first music video on Saturday, as the film clearly states. Oh well. The talent is good and while Walsh-Peelo is great, I feel that Jack Reynor is even better though his part is smaller yet he shines as the sacrificing big brother who needs to understand that his moment to shine will never happen. Boynton is also great.
Also included is a dream sequence, something that I'm not particularly fond of, though this one works wonders, getting inside the imagination of Conor of what he really wants his music video to look like. And the song is great. While I would have liked a more solid ending, the film tells a simple story but makes it sing, and the songs are the true stars of the film. Grade: A-