Once DVD Review
The sleeper hit of last year.
Manufactured for the sole purpose of making you smile, bare-bones indie musical Once was the sleeper hit of last year. Director John Carney paints Dublin as an aurally rich city, where even the bank managers are tunefully adept. At times, the strong accents of Irish busker Guy (Hansard) and Czech pianist Girl (Irglov) can prove problematic for the audience, never mind each other. But music in Once truly is the universal language, and feels like a natural extension of the characters' personality instead of a hammy imposition. There's just enough silence to give the music time to breathe, and from the moment the pyjama-clad Irglov breathy, ethereal voice creeps out of your TV speakers, you know you need the soundtrack. As far as rom-coms go, Once does for the humble vacuum cleaner what Bridget Jones did for big pants: inspiring hopeless romantics in the most absurdly ordinary way. [Jenni Cruickshank]
Read Kevin McHugh's review of Once