Rent Once (2006)

A Gem - Once review by GI

This humble, low budget gem of a film will warm the cockles of your heart. Set in Dublin it's a romantic, humorous drama about a young busker (Glen Hansard) who has a talent for songwriting but doesn't know how to get a music career going. Then one day he meets a young Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová) and she encourages him to play, write and record his songs with her help. They slowly and gently fall in love during their journey together. Director John Carney shot using long lenses for the street scenes so ordinary people were caught up in the everyday drama. The music by Glen Hansard (of the band The Frames and who also had a small part in 1991s The Commitments) is fantastic and the songs essentially tell the story of the love that blossoms between the two main characters. This film has been much admired by the likes of Steven Spielberg for its simplicity and beautiful story and it really is a delight. There are some wonderful moments that are very subtle and watched carefully you can see where the these two young people begin to fall in love. What a little cracker of a film, there was even a stage show based upon it after it's reputation grew. If you've never seen this then I highly recommend it.

Slow - Once review by DA

As one of the other reviewers said, you have to like the music. I didn't. And there are a lot of songs, mostly sung all the way through accompanied with pictures of the musicians playing them. Apart from that, not a lot happened. There was little conflict to drive the story. It was very realistic, like most of real life, but not very exciting. The actors were excellent but frankly I was bored.

A Nice Film - Once review by CP Customer

Nothing particulary bad about this film and the storyline is certainly engaging as the busker and Big Issue seller start falling in love. But I think there are two major drawbacks: the music is mediocre, certainly not good enough to persuade you that here is another Bob Dylan in the making; and the dialogue is difficult to follow at times. A shame, because otherwise I liked it.

A touching film but an advertorial nonetheless - Once review by AD

Loved the music and enjoyed the film. The acting was rather good and the story, well perhaps a little clichéd but also close enough to real life.

Love on a Borrowed Camcorder - Once review by griggs

Most romances need declarations and an airport sprint. Once gets surprisingly far with a broken hoover.

It’s shot on what looks like a borrowed camcorder, all wobbly handheld shots and grey Dublin streets. That suits two people piecing together a song while sizing each other up. The whole thing plays like a demo tape, scuffed and heartfelt.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová make a lovely awkward pair, drawn together at an inconvenient point in their lives. “Falling Slowly” says everything they can’t manage in conversation.

The supporting cast mostly carry amps, and I’d have trimmed a chorus or two from Hansard’s earnest busking.

At first it looked cheap. By the end, anything glossier would have felt dishonest.