[Flora and Son Review]A film by John Carney that ventures into a new direction distinct from contemporary trends.

Flora and Son A film by John Carney, best known for his works such as Sing Street (2016), Once (2007) and Begin Again (2013), all of which gained critical acclaim. Prior to working on Modern Love, a romance series for Amazon Prime from 2019 to 2021, Carney was renowned for his distinctive musical storytelling. Although Modern Love was not a musical, it still retained the essence of his previous works. Currently, he has returned to filmmaking with a musical project for Apple TV+. Despite being a smaller production, this new film focuses on creativity with a fresh approach.

Flora and Son, in particular, deviates significantly from the usual tropes often associated with music competitions and romance between lead characters, placing more emphasis on crafting a unique narrative. The film tells the story of a mother and son, both struggling with life’s challenges, until one day an old guitar brings them closer together. The love between the mother and son is central to the story, making it stand out from his previous works.

Flora and Son Review

This story revolves around family dynamics and issues before introducing the guitar as a turning point in life. The mother, portrayed by Eve Hewson , is a young woman whose life has been fractured since her teenage years, leading to pregnancy and early motherhood. The father is a musician who is separated from them and also disappointed by the situation, causing him to lose his promising musical career. Their son, currently a rebellious teenager, becomes a delinquent and gets into conflicts with other kids, leading to several incidents that almost result in him being sent to a juvenile detention center.

The central element of the story is the introduction of the first guitar into the family as a gift for the son, with the hope of rekindling his interest. However, the son rejects it, prompting the mother to start learning to play the guitar herself, hoping to connect with her son and possibly mend her relationship with her estranged husband. This decision to learn to play leads her to meet Jeff (played byJoseph Gordon-Levitt), a musician who had once abandoned his professional dreams and now teaches guitar online. The interactions between all these characters revolve around their individual relationships with music and reignite their musical aspirations, bringing music back into their hearts once again.

The movie hardly features any main songs throughout the story, except for the ending. This is because the film focuses on individuals who are just beginning to take an interest in music. It’s a general, fundamental narrative, involving activities such as learning to write lyrics, playing guitar chords briefly, and promoting Apple’s music software, GarageBand, concurrently. The story revolves around a teenage son who has an interest in music, while his mother knows little about it. He introduces GarageBand to his mother and teaches her to use it so that they can create music together with a serious intent. While there is some direct promotion involved, it fits well within the narrative. It illustrates that people, regardless of their previous musical education, can use this software effectively. The film emphasizes short music-related content like this, which complements the storyline more than having full-fledged songs. Therefore, viewers who expect catchy songs may not find the film as satisfying since it doesn’t feature them prominently. Catchy songs usually come from existing popular music and are incorporated into the film, rather than being a central focus.

Movies still have love stories intertwined as before, but they are of distant relationships. For example, a wife and husband who are separated but still have affection for each other, or an online guitar teacher. Even though it is clear that she likes him a lot, and the long-distance love story (Iceland and LA) of both looks sweet, there are romantic scenes that are usable, but the movie doesn’t progress beyond being a straightforward love story. It also uses long-distance relationships through the screen to create playful storytelling that seems to bring him right in front of her. This idea has been used several times and looks very contemporary in the musical movie genre that has been around, including the love between a son and a girl in the neighborhood where the mother tries to make the son shoot a self-made music video to win her heart. It’s a simple idea that fits perfectly with this era.

Summary of John Carney’s musical film that his fans should watch because it tells a new musical story that is unlike any other. The story unfolds using the foundation of music mixed with new technology seamlessly, without abandoning the small love stories and relationships, following the director’s style. However, if you’re not a fan of John Carney’s work, this is not a musical film that delivers catchy songs because there are very few new songs,Since it’s a story about a mother and her son who are just starting out as musicians.

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