This film is part of Rentals
Sing Street
The third in John Carney’s trilogy of musical films is the utterly charming story a boy who escapes his troubles through fronting a pop band.
Director: John Carney
Overview
After Once and Begin Again, John Carney returns to Ireland for the third of his musical stories. In 1980s Dublin young Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is struggling to adapt to a new school until he meets the beautiful and super-cool Raphina (Lucy Boynton). In an effort to impress her he joins a band, finding he has an unexpected flair for songwriting. Before long he’s reinvented as ‘Cosmo’, star-turn for a flamboyant synth-pop act, and becomes fully immersed in a world of music that transcends all his other family problems.
John Carney’s sojourn in New York for Begin Again may have led to an Oscar nomination for Best Song, but the writer-director felt that something got lost in the transatlantic translation. Back in Dublin his mojo is well and truly returned in a film bursting with heart and soul. There’s an element of nostalgia to its celebration of 1980s culture, but it’s carefully crafted and far from the outright fetishisation we sometimes see on screen. The songs are particularly well crafted, oozing echoes of Duran Duran and The Cure but cannily constructed in their own right (former Danny Wilson frontman Gary Clark was a co-writer). Sharing some of spirit of The Commitments (though with different musical styles) Sing Street is a funny, smart and utterly charming film that’s guaranteed to leave you smiling.
infrequent strong language, drug use, moderate sex references, smokingRelated
The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.
Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.
La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.
Misericordia Misericordia
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Alain Guiraudie
French provocateur Alain Guiraudie's rural homecoming story mixing passion, crime, mushrooms and bedroom farce to dizzily involving effect.
The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.
Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.
La La Land La La Land
Comedy 2016 128 mins Director: Damien Chazelle
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone channel old-school Hollywood glamour in this bright and playful romantic musical from director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).
Chi-Raq Chi-Raq
Musical 2015 127 mins Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s bold and vivacious hip-hop musical restages an ancient Greek battle-of-the-sexes in 21st-century Chicago.
London Road London Road
Musical 2015 92 mins Director: Rufus Norris
Daring, startling and wholly original: a musical based on the infamous Ipswich murders of 2006, adapted by National Theatre director Rufus Norris.
The Flame of Love The Flame of Love
Melodrama 1930 75 mins Director: Richard Eichberg and Walter Summers
Chinese-American star Anna May Wong dazzles as a Chinese dancer forced to give herself to a Russian General in order to save her brother.
Song of Freedom Song of Freedom
Drama 1936 77 mins Director: J. Elder Wills
A black London docker becomes a famous opera singer in this stirring musical drama starring Paul Robeson
Babymother Babymother
Musical 1998 77 mins Director: Julian Henriques
Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.
A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.
Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.
Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.
The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.
Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.
La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.