The perfect movie to curl up with on a rainy day, Flora and Son tells us that music is the tie that binds people together, whether they’re ex-lovers, potential partners, or a scared mother reaching out to her equally skittish son hoping he will reach back.
If you can walk away from a movie with a tune in your heart and a bounce in your step, then it’s safe to say that the film clicked in just the ways that were intended.
Propelled by a funny, charismatic turn by Hewson (who infused such unpredictable energy in the terrific Apple TV Plus series “Bad Sisters”), Flora and Son is a feel-good movie that largely earns its sentimental uplift, one sick burn and soaring musical number at a time.
It’s almost unbelievable that Carney pulls off films like this, which could easily tip over into maudlin. Instead, the winning Flora and Son is an utterly irresistible emotional ear-worm.
Blending the hilarious and heartfelt, the tough and the tender, John Carney’s sweerheart of an Irish musical is something you’ll want to hold close.
Heart and soul—those two concepts beaten to death by lyricists—suffuse every scene of this modest, perfect picture.
That’s the beauty of what Carney has created here, a film that wraps you in and absorbs you with its loveliness and charm, to a point that you don’t want to leave its presence.
It’s catchy and touching, it weaves the music into the story with a spontaneity that can leave you laughing with pleasure, and it navigates an honest path from despair to belief, which is Carney’s disarmingly sweet calling card.
Hewson never sees her as some kind of tarty punchline – neither does Carney, and neither will the audience. You know all that stuff about “strong female characters” who are also “flawed” or “human” or whatever other insane word salad Hollywood is still requiring of its female leads? Here’s a real one.
Hewson takes a flawed but good-hearted mess of a character and makes her sympathetic, likable and fully human.
While not as successful as other music-themed romantic comedies set in Ireland, it was a satisfying look at a single mother's struggle to engage with her grown son while also rediscovering her own passions.
The latest directorial effort from John Carney, following the exceptional Sing Street, Flora and Son focuses on Flora, a single mother who is determined to connect with her teenage son, Max. A Guitar and guitar lessons form part of that approach.Nevertheless, this premise is only the starting point of what the plot intends to communicate, since it's intended to reflect on the idea that music is a manifestation deeply rooted in human emotions and relationships.While the film effectively transmits this message through its narrative, it falls short in the musical section. In my opinion, the musical selection is poorly chosen and not up to par with the story, resulting in a lack of memorable sequences in which the music plays a part. Unfortunately, this detracted from the film's overall performance.Despite this limitation, I found Flora and Son to be an acceptable option.
Um filme bem good vibes que chega a emocionar em certos momentos, mais especificamente pelo poder da música mesmo do que propriamente por alguma cena marcante (ainda que tenha sido espetacular o fato do Joseph Gordon-Levitt se transpor do computador, para materializar sua presença junto à protagonista, porém, achei que isso iria acontecer na cena final). É um retrato humano e sincero da família tradicional (e digo isso não de forma irônica). Filho com problemas de socialização, um casamento que não dera certo, mas cujos adultos mantém ainda uma amizade (e achei bem legal o fato de não idiotizarem ciuminhos bestas entre eles, ficou na verdade uma representação bem madura, e não precisou sacrificar seus receios, além de uma queda pelo professor de música encarnado por um Gordon-Levitt muito bem caracterizado num cara de meia idade, o que se afasta daquela pegada mais sex appeal e mais apelativa. Diria que é um filme inofensivo mais com camadas interessantes, que até poderiam ser melhor desenvolvidas, mas que, a meu ver, distorceriam a proposta do filme, porque de fato você sai com a sensação de que é um retrato "por cima" mas muito, muito humano mesmo. Os personagens possuem uma série de defeitos mas cuja redenção podem encontrar em momentos de encontro ou de arte. Para melhorar, não há aqui um desafio, uma competição, ou algo extraordinário acontecendo. É um conto de pessoais normais, simples, que tentam seguir em frente em suas vidas e rotinas, e confesso que essa escolha do roteiro me agrada muito, e torna o filme onde a música não é instrumentalizada para vender mensagens de autoajuda, por mais que force um ou outro comentário, é maispara mostrar a perspectiva dos personagens mesmo. Assim, o filme ganha em contornos de realismo, talvez perca em dramaticidade por não apelar para mensagens maniqueístas. Ainda assim, um excelente filme para se emocionar de forma completamente genuína.
IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a single mom who is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son. Encouraged by the police to find her son a hobby, she gives him an old acoustic guitar and connects him with a washed-up LA musician. Together, they all discover the transformative power of music. Harmony in their relationship also develops. The film was written and directed by John Carney. THINGS I LIKED: I had never seen Eve Hewson in anything before but now I’m a fan. She was terrific in this role. We get to hear Joseph Goron-Levitt sing! I hadn’t seen him in anything in quite a while. I’ve always been a fan of his. I really liked him in this role too. Jack Reynor is also in the cast and will look familiar to you. The movie takes place in Dublin, Ireland. I was just there last month and walked past many of the places shown in the movie! I laughed when one of the characters said, “No tanks.” That’s how they actually talk there! We loved it. Director Carney said that this film is a tribute to mothers. If you love the guitar or folksy, heart-filled lyrics, you’ll want to buy this soundtrack. Isn’t is awesome that the everyday person with a cell phone can make a music video? It’s fun to watch how a song evolves. I loved how the film showed two people separated by continents can feel like they’re in the same space because of the way music transports them. I like that the movie doesn’t wrap up in a nice, pretty bow. Keep watching during the rolling credits at the end of the movie to hear the revealed song Jeff wrote for Flora. THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE: Some Americans might have a difficult time understanding the thick accents. We hear some songs with a ton of profanity. TIPS FOR PARENTS: A mother hits her teen son three times Tons of profanity, including lots of crude language, and F-bombs Talk of porn and detailed descriptions of sex A single mother has a one-night stand. Alcohol, cigarettes A mother and son speak disrespectfully to each other, mostly yelling
John Carney ('Once,' 'Sing Street') returns with another dramedy propelled by several original songs that, as in his previous works, express the desires and frustrations of the characters. In 'Flora and Son,' the writer/director focuses again on the healing power of music to explore the world of a single working-class mother who must deal with a problematic son. Eve Hewson builds a charismatic and irreverent protagonist; her spirit and mischief are the film's heart. On the other hand, the other characters fail to leave an impression on the same level, such as Joseph Gordon Levitt, who plays a kind and understanding but boring guitar teacher; however, some interactions the side characters have with Flora elevate their presence. As usual, Carney places us in his native Ireland to show the heart of its people, their passion for music, and the drive of those who fight against everything and everyone every day to survive day by day. On this occasion, the story tries to cover too much, from a long-distance relationship with romantic overtones to the situation of young people who choose crime as a way of life, which leaves the development of these and other subplots half done. Nevertheless, 'Flora and Son' overcomes its script problems and the lack of more impactful songs to deliver a cute story about connecting with others through music.
In this unlikely tale, a woman without any previous training turns into an accomplished musician in just a few philosophy-filled lessons. Eve Hewson (daughter of Bono) plays a single mom whose 14-year-old son (Orén Kinlan) keeps getting into trouble. She decides to buy a guitar and learn to play it, which introduces an alluring teacher from LA (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Thus begins their long-distance relationship which involves more discussions ABOUT music than it does practical instruction. Hewson does OK despite her continual glower, while Gordon-Levitt brings his usual charismatic charm. John Carney (Once, Sing Street) is the writer/director, so expectations for a musical treat were high. Although there are some pleasant tunes, this film is more about the struggling relationship between the mother/son, but it's mostly surface. There are charming moments, but the pace drags and the empowerment discussions slow it even more.
A very pleasant movie considering it starts out as another vulgar Irish lower-class sob-story. A surprise! After a bit of time the movie found its footing and turned out to be very good. Good acting, good story, pleasant entertainment, and nice music. We'd rate it a: "well worth watching."
The hype swirling around this romantic/creative saga about how the power of love and art can solve virtually any problem has indeed been palpable, but the finished product unfortunately fails to live up to its ambitious billing. Writer-director John Carney’s latest feature tells the story of Flora (Eve Hewson), a Dublin working class single mom with questionable values who’s struggling to raise her (allegedly) rebellious teenage son, Max (Orén Kinlan). But, in doing so, the picture tends to wander amidst an array of diverse story threads, all of which start out dubious but gradually mellow into a mass of schmaltzy harmony, a somewhat implausible scenario given the patently unlikable and irresponsible nature of its central characters. The means for accomplishing this transformation is Flora’s budding love of music, a newfound passion brought about in large part thanks to her online relationship with Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a deadpan, middle-aged Los Angeles-based guitar instructor, a relationship with obvious (but not especially credible) romantic underpinnings. However, in telling this tale, the film gets bogged down by elements like Max’s frequent but unconvincing rebelliousness, Flora’s turbulent relationship with her ex-husband, Ian (Jack Reynor), and a series of long-winded, tedious, supposedly sensitive conversations between Flora and Jeff. To its credit, the film has its share of biting one-liners and a breakout performance by Hewson, but much of this production never really seems to know where it’s going and ends up relying on trite, formulaic plot tropes to wind things up. Regrettably, “Flora and Son” represents yet another example of a film that seriously could have benefitted from further revision and development before being committed to a final cut, an all-too-familiar problem with many of this year’s cinematic releases.
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