Written by: John Carney
Starring: Eve Hewson, Jack Reynor, Orén Kinlan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Wycherley
Rating: [4/5]
As kids grow older and move away from thinking their parents are the most important figure in their lives, some parents find it difficult to find a way to connect with them. It moves beyond just existing as a figure they automatically respect and shifts into the parent meeting the kid where they are at and their interests. With not many other options before her, Flora and Son exhibits a beautiful journey of familial connection through the art of music in ways only John Carney could do.
With her son constantly getting in trouble for petty theft, Flora (Eve Hewson) has met her wit’s end on how to properly steer him. Already struggling with her own issues as a single young mother, she decides to try and connect with him through his love for music so she gets a guitar and begins taking lessons from a U.S.-based instructor Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and they begin to strike up a connection with each other.
Just hearing the name John Carney in the director’s chair provides all I need to know in ensuring I will love a film. He crafted something so beautiful and with a stranglehold on my heart in Sing Street that any new project of his would have me champing at the bit to experience. While Flora and Son does not reach that level, nor should it have that expectation, it delivers in driving home the beauty and power of music in uniting people but instead of brothers we have the dynamic of a mother and son.
As we follow Flora and the life she has before her, it takes us to Dublin but not what typically gets displayed in films that make their way to the United States. It does not center on the beautiful and green hills of the country or some cozy pubs but rather the reality for the average person in Dublin. All the romanticism of the nation gets stripped to show the reality of how a young single mother would live. This only further gets drilled down with Flora’s son, Max (Orén Kinlan) not connecting with his mother and getting involved in these crimes that only make a difficult circumstance even more aggravating for Flora as she tries to figure everything out.
Music then comes in and saves the day as Flora takes the time to learn it and the connection she builds with Jeff over their lessons on virtual calls allows for Flora to not only vent about her situation, but express herself through her music. She then mutually benefits Jeff, as he has his own struggles in wanting to do more than offer affordable guitar lessons. Not only does music bridge the gap between her and her son but also with someone thousands of miles away where the relationship begins to shift into the possibly romantic.
As with any Carney film, the songs crafted for the feature play a major part of the narrative and while Flora and Son does not have the hit rate of Sing Street, “Meet in the Middle” quickly became a song I could not stop listening to after the credits rolled and as I continue to think about this film. It combines a song Jeff has tried to piece together for years now that does not contain the juice for it to work, and infuses Flora’s more abrasive style to craft somewhat of a love letter to each other. How this final song plays out in the film combines some fantastical elements that visualizes the feelings the two characters begin to form for each other. Wonderfully done in its presentation but also genuinely crafting a beautiful and enjoyable song.
While we mostly experience Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Jeff through Flora’s computer, the man demonstrates he can certainly sing as well as he can act and while he plays a more minor role, it still leaves quite the impression. The film belongs, however, wholeheartedly to Eve Hewson and the tremendous job she does as Flora. Breaking into the industry as Bono’s daughter, this film serves as her first leading role in a film of this stature and she wonderfully captivates as this character. She evokes this foul-mouthed and often prickly personality of Flora and makes her such a memorable character to go through this story with. Hewson takes on the humor necessary but also displays her impressive vocal cords, which comes as no surprise given her genetics. Everything she did here left me floored and makes me excited for what she will continue to do in this industry.
Plenty of heart, great music, and lots of love flowing throughout, Flora and Son has all the goods and everything one could want from a John Carney film. We get a strong character in Flora to follow as she tries to find a way to bring some stability to her life and through music she manages to accomplish each piece of it not only for her son, but for herself. Such a delight to experience and a revelation of a performance by Eve Hewson to really make her mark in the film world.
Films with Josh 
