Flora Arrangement

It would probably be going too far to call myself a "fan" of writer-director John Carney. But I've enjoyed enough of his work at this point that I'm automatically curious at anything new he creates. Most recently, that's a movie you can stream on Apple TV+, called Flora and Son.

Flora and Son follows a single mother in Dublin, trying to raise her rebellious early-teen son, Max. When he rejects the guitar she gives him for his birthday, she decides to take online lessons herself. What starts as a lark (and a chance to shamelessly flirt with a stranger) turns into an blossoming love of music. And she soon learns that Max is interested in music -- just not the guitar. Finally, the two have a common interest they may be able to bond over.

This movie is firmly exploring the same themes as an earlier Carney film I loved, Sing Street. This is another very Irish story, and also very much about how the power of music can bring people closer together. It's openly sentimental, and utterly unapologetic for being so. Yet in Carney's hands, it somehow all seems natural, universal, and moving.

The movie stars Eve Hewson as Flora, and she is excellent. Her character is a "warts and all" sort, but she manages to be charming as a whole despite not always being "likeable" (especially early on in the movie). Of course, it also matters that Hewson is quite skilled with the musical elements that this story demands. Her young co-star Orén Kinlan, who plays Max, is a real find. He's a great scene partner and musical collaborator, and just as good at playing a "lovable screw-up."

The movie also features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as online guitar instructor Jeff. It's a subtly challenging role, as most of his characters interactions with Flora are through a computer screen. He has great chemistry with Hewson despite that obstacle. (And small spoiler, the movie does find ways to put the characters in scenes together.) Also featured is Jack Reynor as Max's father Ian; Reynor has collaborated with Carney before, and it's easy to see why the director would look to him again here.

The movie seems to be barreling toward a cliche that would be perfectly endearing in this context... but then changes course in a compelling way in the final act. It could hardly be considered a "twist"; the movie declares right there in its title what the most important relationship in the story is. Still, like another of Carney's works, the TV show Modern Love, it's interesting to see a tale not rigidly follow all the traditional elements of the rom-com formula.

Also, the songs are great. This movie isn't quite a musical, in that none of the songs you hear are a narrative artifice; the characters really are singing and playing music whenever we the audience hear a performance. But the movie also is very much a musical in that it features a number of truly catchy tunes that could live even outside the story. (And the actors themselves were collaborators in the creation of these songs.)

I find myself thoroughly charmed by Flora and Son. It was an A- for me, and sure contender for my Top 10 List of movies for the year (no matter how many other movies I might manage to get to). If you have an Apple TV+ subscription, I think you'll find it a most satisfying hour-and-a-half.