ONCE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's monstrous quest to see every Oscar nominated film before February 24th!

Nominated for Best Original Song (Falling Slowly)

Every year a small indie film comes along and blows me away. This year, it's Once. And it's a musical. Sort of. Set in Ireland, it's the story of a lonely guy (a street performing singer-songwriter vacuum cleaner repairman) who meets a lonely girl (a pianist music lover with a broken vacuum cleaner). The film is so good, the performances are so nuanced, the writing so natural, that at times I forget it's a movie at all and not a documentary. The Guy and Girl (they aren't named in the film) begin to connect in a magical scene as they collaborate on a song in an instrument store. As a musician myself (retired musician I guess), this scene really touched me. It's such a special thing when people begin to connect and create music, some of the greatest moments of my life actually. And it's perfectly captured here. Most of the film is set to song, either the characters listening to them or performing them. But the film wouldn't work if the songs weren't good. Well, they're Damn Good! I'm going to get the soundtrack today. What also helps the realism of the film is the Guy and Girl aren't actors, they're real musicians. And also a real couple. Glen Hansard plays The Guy and he's also the singer/guitarist for Irish rockers The Frames (which writer/director John Carney was also a member). It's also the first acting role for The Girl, Marketa Irglova and the two actually fell in love during the filming and despite their age difference (as of this writing he's 37, she's 19), they're still a couple and recording music together. You can't make this shit up! The song Falling Slowly is also nominated for a Grammy and in my opinion a lock to win the Oscar. I loved this film, and it's in my top ten list. A must see for musicians, music lovers and romantics.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A