Once Revisted

In anticipation of The Swell Season’s show this week at the ASC, I’d like to revisit the film that introduced the songwriting duo to the world.

In 2006 a small unassuming movie created a lot of buzz on the indie circuit. It didn’t have a big name director. It was shot almost entirely on location with no sets. The stars of the picture weren’t even actors, but a couple of musicians who few (in the U.S.) had even heard of. But Once, the tiny movie with a big heart began to resonate with viewers and critics. By the time Once was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Original Song, I decided to check it out for myself. Like so many others, I knew nothing about it beyond the simple plot synopsis: A street performer and a Czech immigrant meet on the streets of Dublin, and begin to write, rehearse, and record songs that tell their story.

The two characters are never given names. We only know them as the “guy” played by Glenn Hansard and the “girl” portrayed by Marketa Irglova. I assumed that both were just small time actors from Europe or Ireland, so it was a revelation to hear Hansard’s earnest voice wailing on the opening track “Say it to me Now.” As the story unfolds, the two strangers discover a mutually shared love of music. The guy wants to record a demo and the girl is a classically-trained pianist who wants to be a songwriter.

When his clunky sexual advances fail, the guy instead focuses on the girl's musical talent, and asks that she take a listen to a new song he’s been working on for his demo. They find a music shop where she can play piano, and he gives her the sheet music and asks her to give it a try. What follows is one of the most stirring, heartfelt duets ever put on film. The moving “Falling Slowly” is the song that won the Oscar, and it’s also the song that made me fall in love with this film. The power of that scene can only come from a genuine, authentic love of music. Physical attraction may have brought them together, but inspiration is the bond that cements their friendship in a way that sex never can. Rarely has the creative spark been captured so eloquently in a movie. Pure magic.

The girl – a young mother who is estranged from her significant other – has come to Ireland seeking work and lives in a tiny apartment with her mother. The guy is invited to dinner and gets to know the family. Recognizing her talents as a musician, he gives her a cassette tape of music featuring another of his songs. He asks her to lend her lyric-writing skills to the piece. She eagerly accepts the challenge.

She listens to the song time and again, trying to come up with the right words until the batteries in her cassette player die. She walks a short distance to a convenience store to buy replacements and plays the song in her earphones on the return walk while singing the new lyrics. “If You Want Me” is the name of the track and it was also the moment I realized I was watching a musical. The film’s ability to play with the conventions of a musical while celebrating it as an art form is one of its delightful strengths.

Knowing absolutely nothing about Once allowed me to get swept up in a way that films rarely do. I was won over by the likability of the characters. I was invested in their relationship, and wanted to see them succeed as a partnership. There is obvious sexual tension, but romance takes a back seat to the creative process. These two people captured lightning in a bottle, and where it would take them – together or apart – wasn’t important. The only thing that mattered was the present.

Sometimes the right person only comes along once… and recognizing and cherishing that moment can be the greatest of life’s gifts.