It’s impossible to talk about this idea of romance and collaboration without considering that little Irish gem from 2006, Once. This one defies a couple different genres, one of which being the rom-com, but another being the musical. In some aspects the movie’s reminiscent of some low budget indie drama, at times almost a little bit like Flight of the Conchords minus the absurdity, with hints of one of those music documentaries about famous recording artists. The entire narrative is actually fairly defiant, shirking all the conventions that you would expect from a film set up in the way this one is. The plot unfolds in a way that feels realistic even though it’s unexpected based on your typical movie plot progressions, right up to its conclusion.
The romance is subtly expressed at times, but the holy moment of this movie comes when the two characters, simply referred to in the credits as “Guy” and “Girl,” play together for the first time in a small music store. Describing it this way makes it sound lame but it’s a magical scene. The simultaneous realization that the two of them are great together musically has all sorts of implications, possibly saying something about the ever-so-mysterious romantic connection between any two people, with music serving as the metaphor for this. Or perhaps making great music together doesn’t always mean that you can necessarily make great music together (so to speak) in your lives in addition to on instruments.
Continue reading on the next page…