The Case of Sing Street

Hey Cassettes, and welcome back to the BCD!

Just for a moment, allow us to take you back to one of the most uncomfortable times in your life: your teenage years. Were you awkward? Did you hate the way you looked? Maybe you had bullies that made your life hell, or perhaps you had problems at home? And while you navigated the confusing landscape of life between childhood and adulthood, maybe you longed for control, or a sense of belonging, or maybe even an escape. But, as long as you could put your headphones on, turn on the radio, or drop the needle on your favorite record, you knew that everything would be OK.

This is what the movie Sing Street is all about. Written and Directed by John Carney, this film follows teenager Conor Lawler as he and his friends start a band in 1980s Ireland. Filled with catchy, original songs, Sin Street flawlessly blends music and narrative to tell a moving story about friendship, brotherhood, and the freeing power of music.

So, this week we’re traveling back to the 1980s to pet some bunnies, play some music and learn all about Sing Street.

Synopsis

Due to money issues, Conor Lawler’s parents have transferred him to the Christian Brothers School on Synge Street. While enduring his first day of unruly classes, strict teachers, and school bullies, Conor notices a girl named Rafina standing across the street. When he approaches her, she tells him she’s a model. Desperate to get her number, Conor lies and tells her he’s in a band that needs a model for a music video. After Rafina agrees to the video, Conor and his new and only friend hurriedly put together a band under the guidance and influence of Conor’s music-loving older Brother, Brendan.

Making of the Movie

John Carney is an Irish musician and filmmaker known for award-winning films like Once and Begin Again. His movies are notable for blending music with the plot, and all have connections to Carney’s life.
- Sing Street is loosely based on Carney’s childhood. Like Conor, he attended the Christian Brothers School on Synge Street CBS. To gain respect from teachers and bullies, Carney formed a band with his friends.
- Eventually, Carney became a founding member of an Irish rock band called “The Frames.” When he was about 20 years old, Carney made the difficult decision to leave the band and pursue filmmaking. He knew that the band would only become more popular, and staying in it would cement his career as a rock musician. But Carney wanted to explore filmmaking even though it meant that he would be broke and have to start from scratch. His career seemed to take off after he and his brother co-wrote and directed the successful TV series Bachelor’s Walk. When Carney made the film Once, he cast his former bandmate and lead singer of Frames as a lead.
- Carney considers Sing Street to be his most honest film, not necessarily because it is so autobiographical, but because it represents how he was feeling at this time in his life. He didn’t want the story to be colored by an adult perspective, he wanted to genuinely show the experiences of kids and not in a retrospective way. As he explained to Den of Geek, “I wanted it to feel that the kids in the film were making the film.”
Filmed on location in Dublin, Ireland
- Like we said before, Sing Street is based on a real place- the Christian Brothers school in Dublin by the name of Synge Street CBS. The actual building was founded in 1864 and is a well-known and established place.
- Not only did John Carney attend this school but other successful people as well such as Hot Press founder Niall Stokes, broadcaster Gay Byrne, and Jim Norton who is an actor in the show “Father Ted.” Even Ferdia’s father (Ferdia played Conor) attended the school.
- When asked about how he felt returning, Carney said “It was like a prisoner coming back to Alcatraz now that it's a sort of a tourist spot. School to me was like a prison. I didn't want to go and I was a fish out of water. I wasn't a good student. So it felt very much like restraint. So it was kind of funny being back in a position of complete authority from one of completely subservient student life, you know, 30 years earlier.”
- Since the 1980s, when this film was set, the school has changed to become more progressive, inclusive, and boastful of wonderful teachers and excellent academic records.
The Cinematography
- The cinematographer for this film was Yaron Orbach. He has worked with John Carney on his previous film, “Begin Again.” He also was the cinematographer for 13 episodes of “Orange is the New Black.”
- Some of the most compelling visual elements of the movie are the music videos created by the band. Orbach flawlessly recreated the look and feel of home movies and blended them with the top-notch visuals created by the modern cameras used to shoot the film. The movie was shot on film & digital using an ARRICAM Lite (LT) Camera and a Red Epic Camera.
Costume Design
- Tiziana Corvisieri designed the costumes for the film. The challenge was to recreate the 1980s DIY counterculture punk aesthetic, as kids would throw together makeshift outfits as a form of rebellion. The audience needed to believe that these teenagers were putting their outfits together at home, which means they couldn’t look polished or streamlined. Corvisieri delivered a collection of imperfect masterpieces for Conor and his bandmates.
Casting the band
- Before Sing Street, John Carney made a film in America with big-name actors like Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. Carney didn’t enjoy the fame aspect of huge premieres and the headache of the paparazzi, so for his next film he decided to work with a group of fairly unknown actors instead. Casting kids that weren’t established musicians or actors helped reinforce the fantasy that these were average kids writing and playing music.
- Ferdia Walsh-Peelo plays Conor, the lead character dealing with a turbulent home life and the trials of a new school. Ferdia was one of the first kids to audition for the part, and John Carney later admitted that he originally thought he could find someone better for the role. The original plan was to find an actor that could pull off playing the part of a musician, but Ferdia was more of a musician than an actor. When the final cast had been put together, the band was made up of musicians that had little to no acting experience. Since Sing Street, Ferdia has starred in the series Vikings as King Alfred.
- Mark McKenna plays Eamon, Conor’s bandmate and fellow songwriter with an obsession with bunnies. Since this film, McKenna has gone on play Simon Kellerher in the series, One of Us is Lying.
  - Eamon and Conor quickly become very close, writing music together for the band. This character was actually based on one of Carney’s friends who is also named Eamon, and who also loved bunnies! He is the real-life Sing Street bassist.
- Ben Carolan plays Darren, the first friend that Conor makes at school. Darren becomes the band’s manager and films the music videos.
  - Carolan appears in the series Kin with Aiden Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy (who play Conor’s parents in Sing Street)!
- Lucy Boynton plays Raphina, the girl that inspires Conor to start the band. Boynton is six years older than Ferdia, making her 21 while filming. She has appeared in major films like Bohemian Rhapsody and Murder on the Orient Express.
  - Lucy mailed in her audition on tape and it soon became obvious that she had great chemistry with Ferdia. Raphina
- Percy Chamburuka plays Ngig, the bandmate on the keyboard in the film. Chamburuka hasn’t acted much since this film, but pursued a career in music and is now a rapper known as Jafaris.
- Karl Rice as Garry and Conor Hamilton as Larry round out the band. Rice appeared in the film Let the Wrong One In, and Hamilton has continued his career as a musician.

We love Sing Street for many reasons, but what really lifts this film up is the collection of original songs. Written and composed by Gary Clarke and John Carney, each song in the film mimics a certain 1980s style of music. The goal was to create songs that were recognizable but were also completely brand new. Gary Clarke is a well-known Scottish musician known for the bands Danny Wilson, King L, and Transister. John Carney was a fan of Clarke’s music in the 1980s and felt he was the perfect choice to write the music for Sing Street. He claims that Clarke wrote most of the songs with a little inspiration from Carney, but Clarke says that Carney is just being modest.

The Riddle of the Model
- Sing Street begins with a focus on Conor and his family. His parents are on the verge of separating and money is tight. The strongest relationship Conor has is with his brother, Brendan, played by Jack Reynor. Reynor also starred in the hugely popular film Midsommar.
  - Brendan and Conor bond over music, as Brendan introduces his brother to new bands and styles.
  - Conor and his band first try to cover a Duran Duran song before writing their own. Brendan breaks the recording of their cover, declaring that Conor can’t expect to win over a girl with someone else’s art.
- The Riddle of the Model is the first song that Conor and Eamon write together, and it’s inspired by artists like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode and calls back to the New Romance style popular in the early 1980s.
- John Carney thought The Riddle of the Model was the perfect name for a young teenager’s song because it is just pretentious enough for a teen to create.
Up
- In 1980s Ireland it was illegal to get divorced. It was also easier financially for couples to stay together even if it meant that they were unhappy. Conor’s parents are constantly fighting, and tensions are high at home. In contrast, Conor is completely infatuated with Raphina, even though she already has a boyfriend.
- After hearing their mother and father having an argument, Brendan tells Conor that he thinks she is having an affair. Conor promptly grabs the records Brendan lent him and goes to visit Eamon. Together, they write the song Up.
- The records in this scene are Joe Jackson, The Police, and The Jam. The song is so beautiful, it moves Raphina to tears when she hears it.
A Beautiful Sea
- Being in the band has given Conor new confidence that he didn’t have before. He doesn’t want to fade into the background and follow the rules. Instead, he prefers to stand out and express himself however he chooses. After all, rock and roll is a risk.
- Appearing at school in make-up and dyed hair, Conor is met with an angry reaction from the headmaster, Brother Baxter. Baxter demands Conor wash his make-up off, but Conor refuses because there are no rules saying he can’t wear it. In a fit of power-hungry rage, Baxter forces Conor’s head under running water and wipes his face clean.
- This encounter doesn’t deter Conor from pursuing his music, and after some influence from Brendan and Raphina, decides to try out a new “happy-sad” sound.
  - Conor and Raphina’s relationship continues to blossom. She waits for him to get out of school and he continues to write songs about her. As the characters learn to become their true selves around each other, Conor puts on more make-up, and Raphina puts on less.
- A Beautiful Sea is inspired by the Cure, especially the record The Head on the Door.
- For the music video, Conor has the original idea that the girl commits suicide by jumping into the water. Raphina suggests instead that she is actually a mermaid that misses her friends and so she returns to the Sea.
  - Conor tells Raphina to pretend to jump in the water during the music video. Even though she can’t swim, Raphina actually jumps in, forcing Conor to save her. Afterward, he asks her why she did that. She tells him it was for the art, and you can never do it by half. So, he takes the chance to kiss her.
Drive It Like You Stole It
- Possibly the most popular song from the film is Drive it Like You Stole It. The song exemplifies the movie’s message of seizing control of your own life, no matter the circumstances you’re currently facing.
- Conor first gets the idea for the song while he and his siblings attempt to drown out the sounds of their parents fighting with the Hall and Oates song, Maneater. As they’re dancing in his room, Conor’s brother Brendan says to him, “This is the life, Conor. Drive it like you stole it.”
- When it comes time to film the music video, we no longer see the 1980s equipment and makeshift costumes. Instead, the audience sees what Conor’s vision was for the video: an American prom scene with influences from Back to the Future and West Side Story.
- The contrast between Conor’s imagination and his reality shows the height of his ambition and foreshadows why he can’t stay where he is if he wants to achieve his dreams.

Conor decides that the best next step for the band is to play at the end-of-term disco. He invites everyone he can think of–Brendan, his parents, and Raphina. Watching Conor become more involved in his music has taken a toll on Brendan, and he loses his temper when Conor brings up the gig. He explains that he paved the way for his brother, and he laments the fact that in his own eyes, he hasn’t lived up to his potential.

The three songs the band plays at the disco are: Girls, To Find You, and Brown Shoes.

Girls
- Conor starts writing this song during the film after his art teacher asks if Raphina is his girlfriend. He answers yes, but promptly takes it back and says she’s just a model that he knows. The teacher replies simply, “All the complicated girls and boys.”
To Find You
- At the disco, Conor wants to play a slow song. All of his bandmates protest except for Eamon, and the group launches into a ballad called, To Find You.
- Conor and Eamon write the song about his relationship with Raphina after she leaves town with another boyfriend and insults Conor. While writing it, Eamon and Conor discuss destiny and finding their way out of Dublin, foreshadowing the end of the movie.
Brown Shoes
- Brown Shoes is the final, show-stopping number to close out the dance. The song is about Conor’s disdain for Brother Baxter and the authority of the school. Before the disco, he and his bandmates made dozens of Brother Baxter masks for the students to wear during the song. The number is the ultimate rebellion and pretty much guarantees that the band will never be allowed to play at school again.
- Possibly a little inspired by Pop Muzik by M and Motorhead’s Stay Clean, Conor begins writing this song halfway through the movie. It is something that is on his mind and he is dealing with it every day at school.
Go Now
- The movie ends on a more introspective and dreamlike note, as the final song is not sung by the band, but by Adam Levine of Maroon 5.
- After the gig, Conor leaves his band behind to run home with Raphina. The two wake Brendan and ask for a ride to the docks so they can take a boat to London and try to make it there on their own. With enthusiastic support, Brendan gets them to the dock safely and hands Conor some song lyrics he wrote. As he watches his brother take the chance that he wishes he would have taken, Brendan throws his arms in the air with excitement and pride.
  - Conor and Brendan’s relationship was inspired by John Carney’s relationship with his brother. He explained that parents have an idea of who their children should be, but older siblings allow their younger siblings to be themselves.
- John Carney wanted the end of the film to be ambiguous. He told Tasha Robinson of The Verge after the film was released: I sort of hoped the scene at the end would look a little like a fantasy sequence. You’re supposed to wonder where the reality ends and the pop video begins. But people are actually taking it very seriously, and people are presuming it’s fully real, which is interesting. That wasn’t the intention.”

Also Starring

Don Wycherly as Brother Baxter
- Wycherly also appeared in Carney’s TV series Bachelor's Walk and also guest-starred in a couple of episodes of Moone Boy.
- John Carney praised Wycherly’s performance as the thuggish and tyrannical Brother Baxter and admitted that he also had a teacher at Synge Street that was just as rough with the kids. In fact, a story circulated that a former schoolboy saw this teacher waiting in line at the movies once and just punched him in the face in retaliation for the years of abuse he inflicted.
Ian Kenny as Barry
- Barry is Conor’s main bully and makes his life hell at Sing Street. The film shows that Barry has an incredibly difficult home life, which could be partly why he acts out at school. Conor and his bandmates recognize the power that music has of bringing people together, so they recruit Barry to be their roadie near the end of the film. This gives him an outlet and includes him in the fun.
- Kenny currently plays Declan in the TV series Red Election
Aiden Gillen as Robert (Conor’s father)
- Gillen is likely most well-known for his role as Little Finger in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Maria Doyle Kennedy as Penny (Conor’s mother)
- Kennedy is an Irish actress known for roles like Siobhan Sadler in Orphan Black, and recently voiced Moll MacTíre (Mebh’s mother) in Wolfwalkers!
Kelly Thornton as Ann (Conor’s sister)
- Thornton starred in the 2013 film Life’s a Breeze and has starred in several short films since Sing Street.

Awards and Reception

The film was pretty well received in the United States. It received several nominations and won some awards too. Included in the awards won were:
- Chlotrudis Award for Best Use of Music in a film
- Faro Island Film Festival Award Golden Moon Award for Best Screenplay
- International Online Cinema Halfway Award for Best Original Song (Drive it Like You Stole It)
- Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Reynor)
- Nashville Film Festival
- It was in the top ten Independent Films from the USA National Board of Review
- It won some other awards as well including a Southwest Airlines Audience Award

Fun Facts

The film was adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical!
When interviewed about the movie Americans always asked about the bunnies in the film but Irish audiences did not.
Some of Carney’s old bandmates from “The Frames” came and met the young band actors in the film.

Sing Street has something for everyone. It’s a heartwarming story about the trials of coming of age and finding where you belong. Not only can audiences connect with the nostalgic music, but there’s also an honesty that we all can identify with. Sing Street is one of those true stories that never actually happened. The feeling, the tone, the experience are all very real, even though the events and characters aren’t.

Many films tell coming-of-age stories, but this is a movie that immerses you in a moment that you may have forgotten (or at least tried to forget). It reminds us of the people and events that helped us become the people we are today. And watching Conor embrace his talents, make friends, discover his worth, and fight for his dreams, inspires us all to drive it like we stole it.

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