Once is one of the defining romantic films of the new millennium, and the most touching elements are the chemistry and song writing skills of the two leads in the film. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova had known each other for years, performing together as a folk duo prior to any involvement with this film. Hansard, as lead singer of The Frames, met Irglova back in 2001 in the Czech Republic when her father had organized a music festival, inviting The Frames to play there. Hansard, a veteran of the Irish music scene for years, began supporting Irglova and her piano career. Hansard and Irglova soon decided to join forces as a duo to write and record and play live as The Swell Season, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2006. On the album appears the seeds of Once, with the tracks Lies and Falling Slowly seeing their initial release. It would be on the backs of these and other songs, a real-life relationship unfolding, and the chemistry of hope and promise that would spur on this film that is touching, romantic and bittersweet and one of the best musicals of the modern era. It’s also a film that positions romance not necessarily defined by sex or declaration, but by inspiration, openness and friendship.
Irglova and Hansard were consulted by John Carney (former bassist for The Frames) for a film about street musicians in Dublin. Originally, Cillian Murphy was cast opposite Irglova, but pulled away from the project, unable to commit to singing Hansard’s songs. Hansard was then pulled in, creating an intimate opportunity for life, music, and film to overlap with astounding honesty and commitment. It’s about a Guy (Hansard) who’s Irish and a Girl who’s Czech (Irglova) who meet on the street when the Guy is playing songs on the sidewalk. They start off a tentative relationship, where she learns he repairs vacuums and she needs a vacuum fixed. The Girl and Guy begin to flirt and end up meeting again because of the vacuum, and then walk into her favorite music shop where she is allowed to play piano. He has his guitar and they both decide to play a song together that he has written. “Falling Slowly” unfolds before the camera as collaboration, mutual affection, and inspiration mesh in the lyrics and the eyes of the musicians. He is healing from a past relationship and she is living with her mother and daughter, while her husband is back home in the Czech Republic. This new relationship is a cautious but earnest dance of romantic yearning and companionship as they begin to play music together and share ideas. The Guy has several songs he wants to record and recruits The Girl and some other local musicians to rent out a studio for a day, where songs are recorded in one long session, creating a document of relationships, past and present. As the film ends, The Guy and The Girl part ways, he heading off to London to retrieve his old flame, and she, equipped with a new piano he buys her, is living again with her whole family, husband included. It is a delicately played finale, using hope and reflection as romantic climax.
There is no kissing or real romance on display whatsoever in this film, unless you count delicate eye contact, honesty, and friendship as romantic. Surely there are countless “romances” that never fully materialize for one reason or another in the fashion that most movies equate with the definition. It could be argued that some of the most touching and devastating romances in cinematic history, though, are defined by lovers not consummating the relationship or who don’t stay together at the end. Once is in this vein, but is even more restrained in its approach, almost to the point of emphasizing these are “just friends”. Yes, friends who are attracted to each other, but friends just the same. If the film achieves anything, it is all because of the utterly real chemistry of the two leads as they portray this friendship. Around the time of the making of the film, Irglova and Hansard became romantically linked and then on for a period of a few years. Thus, the film contains real, unforced, onscreen chemistry, like Bogie and Bacall or Hepburn and Tracy. But it is not filtered through professional acting and instead reflects a kind of ragamuffin, honesty. Due to their unfamiliarity with being filmed, Hansard and Irglova were often filmed from afar as it made them more comfortable not being so close to the camera. One can see examples of their lack of polished acting, yet it almost works to the advantage in this cinema verite style of filmmaking, where imperfections in acting are leveraged by the filmmaker for greater effect.
Maybe the best way to convey what works about this film, is from a segment of an interview that Irglova did with The Huffington Post back in 2011:
Huffington Post: Along with Glen Hansard, you received an Academy Award for Best Song for the movie Once. Marketa, your on screen chemistry was amazing. Though your music was beautiful and the plot was special, I honestly think what drew people into that movie the most was the beautiful depiction of your relationship.
Irglova: Oh, thank you. Once is a perfect example of synchronicity and serendipity in life that happens when you’re open. There are so many parallels between the film and real life and the lives of John Carney–the director and the screenwriter–and Glen and mine. The script was written and my character was developed before John Carney even met me, and there were so many similarities in terms of my life and the life of this woman and how the two characters in the movie meet and how Glen and I met, so it was this beautiful thing of the lines blurring in terms of what is real and what is fiction. I think that’s, in a way, the perfect way to it to be because sometimes art imitates life and other times, life imitates art. It really walks this full circle, in a way. Working with the director on the film was most inspiring in a way that it was very much open. He recognized the friendship between Glen and I, and that was a big reason why he cast us in the first place–because he saw us play together in Dublin, and whatever chemistry we had together onstage was the one he was looking for in his film. So, once he cast us, he kind of allowed us to express the friendship that we naturally had and allowed for that to be felt throughout the movie within the context of the characters that he had written. So, I absolutely agree that there’s something very authentic and sincere about the love between the characters and the love that Glen and I have for one another.”
Through collaboration and honesty, both The Guy and The Girl end up better people through the relationship. It is a film that defines romantic epiphany not through sex, but through inspiration, with the lasting document of this inspiration being the music they created together. Though they don’t consummate this love, they “birth” music and achieve a different kind of family unit together.
Love this film! The music is lyrical and inspired, the romance real.
Excellent review Jon Warner!
Thanks Frank! I agree wholeheartedly.
What a mouthwatering invitation to this movie, which I confess is one that I’ve fastidiously stepped around. Now you have me aching to watch it!
Wow I’m excited you are inspired to see it. Thanks so much for the comment.
“Falling Slowly” has become the anthem of a generation, and deservedly so. One of the greatest of songs it has struck an inspirational chord with the masses, and remains an intimate experience with so many listeners. This is also pretty much the case with this very great film as well (I envy you Jon, for securing the assignment, though I can’t imagine anyone bettering your passionate and enthralling review of it) and it remains one of the most blissfully repeatable screen romances that will surely continue to rise in affectation with cinema fans. Heck it even inspired a superb Broadway production, and there’s quite a documentary out there on it. Hansard and Irglova were immediately a classic screen couple, and their chemistry is well beyond anything Carney could have hoped for when he cast them in the role. Nice to include the acute perception that all the physical romantic trappings including ‘kissing’ are not here, but that the romance is no less intense and passionate based on looks, spirit and dialogue. Yes, inspiration is indeed the key word here. Excellent idea to include that portion of the interview. And Bravo for bringing this screen masterpiece to full analytical justice in this splendid essay.
Thanks Sam! Glad to see you are quite the fan as well. It is indeed a spectacular film and you’re right, it has generated a following and additional works, like the musical you mentioned. I was proud to write on this one and am glad I could contribute. I think the hopefulness of the film is rather infectious and it’s hard to be cynical about this one.
Jon, what a great angle here, upon the subject of romance. Your fine essay raises the sense, in this film, of enacting the possibility of deep affection that somehow circumvents conjugal bliss. I haven’t seen this film; but the cinematic possibilities of its premise interest me a lot, and now I feel I must see it.
Hey that’s great Jim. Thanks for your perspective. I would be interested to see what you think of this film after seeing it.. Somehow this concept of un-consummated love relationships does intrigue me…..it sort of leaves the lovers and the viewers in a state of quivering, romantic tension. In Brief Encounter, this sort of scenario occurs as well, as the two lovers never have sex, despite the one evening where they end up back at his apartment, and she becomes skittish. Somehow the pent-up sexuality never seeing release can be utilized for profound cinematic effect.
Jon – Apologies for the belatedness of this response, but congratulations on an excellent post. You really capture what is romantic about this film, even if it is not conventionally so. For me, there’s no better testament to how a shared love of making music draws people together than “Once.”
Thanks Pat for the great thoughts and support.
I really love this film. It’s quite beautiful and profound in its simplicity. And that song is one of the most beautiful Oscar winners I can think of. Even from a craft standpoint I feel the film has merit. I remember Steven Spielberg advocated for this film when it came out. The last scene — the last shot — is so moving. Thanks for the great piece and for including the interview.
Glad to hear of your love for this film Pierre. The film has some fascinating technical merits to be sure and was smack-dab in the middle of the craze for digital filmmaking, but for a film like this, the life-like feel really adds to the ambience and is a nice symmetry with the characterization and story telling.
What strikes me about this film is Hansard’s great, emotional voice that comes through on the songs that he sings and is reminiscent of Richard Thompson. It gives the music a powerful punch and depth. He plays a character still haunted by a past relationship and this bleeds into his songs. In contrast, Marketa Irglova brings a quiet, understated charm to her role. It’s a wonderfully unaffected performance and the two of them have terrific chemistry together. ONCE is one of those rare films where the actors are actually playing their instruments and singing instead of aping along to someone else’s music. Hansard and Irglova are the real deal and this only adds to my enjoyment of the film.
A superb piece on this singular little film. An excellent description of the unique qualities that make it certain this lovely romance could have only happened once.
An exhilarating film with great music. Mr. Warner has captured the pulse!