Once review

 Number 349 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Irish musical romantic comedy Once.

A busker in Dublin only known as Guy (Glen Hansard) meets a Czech lady (Marketa Irglova) who is a musician as well. Through their shared love of music, they start a budding relationship.

I know that in my  'the Notebook' review that as a rule I don't like romance films. Once is the exception to that rule. The main reason is its simplicity. Cillian Murphy was originally set to play Guy, but after he pulled out, so did most of the film's investors. Director John Carney had little choice but to produce this film on a shoestring budget. He gave his salary to Hansard and Irglova, filmed at friends' houses, used natural lighting and filmed in Dublin's busy streets without a permit.

Seeing this simplicity was refreshing compared to the standard American high-budget production. And it gave the film a lovely sense of authenticity. These are struggling musicians and it makes perfect sense that they would do everything on a budget. Further, everything felt more natural. As Hansard was filming in Central Dublin without a permit, he had to use a long lens. This often led to Hansard and Irglova forgetting that they were being filmed, allowing them to adlib and feel more natural with each other.

A great example of ad-libbing comes when Guy and Girl are on a bus. Guy sings a joke song explaining why he and his ex girlfriend broke up. Hansard improvised the expletive-filled ditty and you can see the other passenger's genuinely amused reactions.

Hansard and Irglova were great as the two leads. They had great on-screen chemistry, probably due to how they dated while filming, and that made Guy and Girl's relationship all the more believable. They were adorable together especially when Girl tells Guy "Miluji Tebe," but coyly refuses to translate what she means. Although I think it's pretty obvious. This was another ad-lib, this time completed by Irglova.

Both Guy and Girl were estranged from their previous partners and it seemed like the two of them would end up as a couple. There were multiple moments where I thought a kiss was on the cards, but it wasn't to be. Once ends with Guy flying too London to win his girlfriend back and Girl reuniting with her husband. Both of them have happy endings, just not with each other. And I liked this. Having the two end up together would be too obvious and predictable and I'm glad they went their separate ways.

Having said that, the film was far from perfect. I know Once is about music with most of the storytelling done through singing, but the musical numbers dragged on for a bit. I would also argue that at times Hansard's singing bordered on screechy, but, then again, I'm tone deaf. It also made no sense that they were still using cassette tapes. This isn't the eighties, it's 2007 where CDs were in full swing with digital streaming and downloads not far behind. On a similar note, why were the characters using payphones and not mobiles? This was strange too.

But, ultimately, I did enjoy Once. The simplified, stripped-back story made for a refreshing and sweet watch.