John Carney is a director who made the breakout hit Once back in 2007 and it had the breakout hit song that won an Academy Award, Falling Slowly. Ever since he has infused music into his films. Sing Street was another fun film about a battle of the bands and teen angst. His latest film, which premiered at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival, Flora and Son, follows similar trends for the director and has similar results.

Flora (Eve Hewson) is the single mother of Max (Oren Kinlan), a teen boy who gets into fights and steals things. His father Ian (Jack Raynor) also lives nearby in Dublin, Ireland where they’re from but he doesn’t do much to raise his son the right way. Most of the raising falls to his mother. As a birthday present, she gets her son a guitar. And she hopes to find some common ground between them through music. What happens is she starts to learn how to play the guitar through an instructor on YouTube named Jeff (Joseph Gordon Levitt). Together they all find some therapy in music. 

Carney is famous for finding ways to write new songs into his films and this one is no different. Using the different subplots the characters create music on their own and collaborate with others. Various instances include “I’ll be the One” a song and video collaboration between Flora and Max, and Flora also collaborates with Jeff on “Maybe We Should Meet in the Middle”, The, no pun intended high point of the music in the movie is “High Life” which is performed at an open mic night,  It’s a magical moment in the movie and definitely should garner a lot of love come awards season.

Besides the music, this film focuses on parenting and raising a son as a single mother. There are aspects to this that I felt were not very good. One is the mother likes to go out partying and bring home random guys. She has a teen son and she argues with him and at one point hits him. She isn’t a fit mother and this movie shows that. Maybe I’m missing something but this wasn’t exactly a good thing for other single mothers watching this film. It gives them bad ideas about being a mother and raising a child. At one point she thinks about leaving him behind for a guy. That’s not right in my book. Yes, this is one instance and all mothers aren’t this bad but she does come around in the end. And embraces her role in this boy’s life.

Carney likes to make films in his native country of Ireland and he makes this country look good in this film. He uses lenses that create a crisp and clear look of this jewel of Ireland. He does do something interesting regarding the Zoom meetings with Gordon Levitt’s character though. They start as a back-and-forth between the two people on either side of the camera and then they are together in the same place. I loved how this brought viewers watching much closer to the characters and their relationship as teacher and student. This seemed ingenious to me. I thought this was a great way to use these characters within the context of the movie.

As a man who had a rough upbringing as a child, I can relate to this boy who feels isolated from his family. He has music and that is what bonds them together as a family. My family didn’t have that but I did have a twin brother and we were best friends. He served that role for me. Max is alone and lashes out at times but he uses his music as a way to show he cares and expresses himself through it. The writers give these characters trife which makes them better because of it. It’s not easy growing up today or when I was a kid but I have always said find your niche in life and it’ll help you get through the tough times.

Flora and Son isn’t anything groundbreaking but it does have messages of being a single parent at a young age and growing up trying to find a path in life. For this kid, his mother, and his father, music was a way they could bond together. Throw in a YouTube music teacher and you have a sweet film that will make you believe in music as therapy. All the songs, mainly “High Life” will surely be catchy for the audience to listen to and maybe make for a great soundtrack coming your way soon. I liked most of this movie with a small exception of how parenting was depicted.  That’s a small quibble though. Carney has done it again regarding the amazing songs. That’s worth the price of admission for me.

This Film Airs on Apple TV + September 22nd 2023

3 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen