John Carney’s 2007 romantic drama Once is not your usual movie musical production. It strips away the frills of traditional musical films and instead connects with its audience through realism and strong emotional performances. It does not depend on a big budget or elaborately choreographed dance numbers – the focus is on the music, and the bittersweet romance that it conveys. Once was a commercial success at the box office, and yet this was achieved with a minimal budget of $150,000. The film doesn’t try to look expensive, but it doesn't come across as cheap either. Instead, it leans into the ordinariness of its locale, featuring naturalistic shots of a Dublin high street. This relatively small budget is also reflected in the casting choices. Rather than prominent movie stars, singer-songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová play the nameless love interests. While Hansard had success prior to Once whilst performing in the band, The Frames, this was Hansard's second film role and Irglová's first. Both being musicians in real life added an air of realism to their struggle to record a debut album.
'Once' Has an Unforgettable and Oscar-Nominated Soundtrack
Movie musicals are defined by their soundtracks, and it is this that makes Once stand out, despite its stripped-back cinematography. The haunting duet "Falling Slowly" bookends the movie with its connotations of unexplored connection and bittersweet romance. Winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "Falling Slowly" transforms the film’s simplicity to create intensely moving and romantic moments. These moments do not suffer from a lack of elaborate costuming or choreography, because the soundtrack is all that’s needed.
The soundtrack as a whole received a Grammy nomination, a testament to its ability to convey precise points on the couple’s emotional journey, without relying on dialogue or physical displays of intimacy. Glen Hansard’s unnamed male lead can only convey the pain of his recent heartbreak through his spontaneous song "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer," whilst Markéta Irglová as the female lead captures a sense of unspoken longing during their recording of "When Your Mind’s Made Up." Both feel something for the other that cannot be fully declared, and so the music speaks when their words cannot.
This differs from the powerful soundtracks that define film adaptations of popular stage musicals. In the movie versions of Les Misérables and Mamma Mia!, the songs are already so well known that it becomes a question for fans to simply compare performances, where screen actors often cannot deliver the same venue-filling vocals as their stage counterparts. To make up for this, these film adaptations rely on a big-name cast, where Anne Hathaway or Meryl Streep add a sense of novelty to familiar roles. This is a ploy that failed in the 2019 film adaptation of Cats, demonstrating that not every theater production translates onto the big screen.
'Once' Does Not Try to Be a Broadway Spectacle
Once avoids these pitfalls due to its original screenplay. It does not try to emulate a Broadway production but instead strives to create a new genre of the grounded, gritty musical film. This kind of modernity is seen through various adaptations of A Star Is Born or Dreamgirls. Like Once, the songs in these productions represent the music created by its characters as they advance their performing careers. This style of musical grounds its soundtrack in the plot, rather than using its songs only as a method of storytelling. But unlike these examples, Once does not need the established global fame of Lady Gaga (2018’s A Star Is Born) or Beyoncé (2006’s Dreamgirls) to catch the eye of music fans. The talent of Hansard and Irglová is recognized but understated, meaning most audiences won’t have to suspend their disbelief as the leads struggle to make ends meet as they pursue their first forays into the music industry.
Other original musical films such as La La Land or Moulin Rouge! are not in direct competition with a stage equivalent, but they do strive to capture the energy and vibrancy of a stage musical. This is achieved through big budgets, elaborate costumes, and highly choreographed dance numbers. These films succeed in creating a world of romance and emotion through these methods, and yet it is the everyday nature of Once that produces something just as effective. Dance numbers and expensive sets are replaced by a piano, an old guitar, and a representation of genuine human connection.
'Once' Modernizes the Musical Genre
Hansard and Irglová deliver intense character-driven performances foregrounded by the music that they co-wrote for the film. Their performances are understated, and yet their characters are tangibly real. Hansard is a busker in his mid-thirties, who repairs vacuums at his father’s shop, whilst Irglová is a Czech flower-seller, who works along the same street where Hansard plays his music. She is also proficient in the piano, and the pair quickly become a well-suited musical duo. They both describe past relationships that still haunt them, and yet the real focus of the film is the unlikely connection between the two musicians. The two leads become agonizingly close, yet distance prevails between them, and there is little physical contact throughout the movie. As a result, it is the chemistry between the pair, and the power of the heart-breaking soundtrack, that works to convey their relationship.
Once modernizes the long-running movie musical genre by unapologetically stepping away from the grandeur of theater performance. As a result, the film becomes more about the music, and the romance, than traditionally large-scale productions carried by stars of stage and screen. Once also grounds the genre by embracing realism and human imperfection. This film is not back-lit by the bright lights of Hollywood but is set on the cold and gray Dublin streets. As a result, the everyday is romanticized and elevated to the heights of emotional legitimacy.
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