Once upon a time in Dublin

Redheads generally don’t come out on top when it comes to western visual art. Painterly conventions from the early Christian period depict biblical rogues such as Eve and Judas Iscariot with unmistakably flaming ‘dos.

The cinematic era has not made it any easier to be red. Auburn hued women are dangerous sirens like Rita Hayworth or kooky bunglers like Lucille Ball. Our men fare even less well. Two words people, David Caruso.
Well, just when you imagine the world will never be ready to embrace the charms of a ginger romantic lead on screen, along comes Glen Hansard to save the day. Unless you’ve been in a semi-vegetative state this past few days, you’ve almost certainly heard about John Carney’s demi-musical Once. The film, starring Mr. Hansard in just such a role, is not only the first indigenous production to make it into Sundance, it’s only gone and taken the international audience award at Robert Redford’s annual shindig.
And, oh my word, the reviews. “The micro-budget Irish film “Once,” rejected by many a festival en route to Park City, has generated word-of-mouth bordering on euphoria”, notes the Chicago Tribune. “The sort of completely un-hyped, unheralded little gem you go to a festival like Sundance hoping to find and, every once in a while, do,” said LA Weekly. Harry Knowles is a fan, so too the Village Voice. Hark. Is that the sound of Frames detractors spontaneously bursting into flame? I think so.
“I haven’t got around to the reviews yet,” admits Mr. Carney. “I’ve heard they’re good and when I catch my breath I’ll check them out.”
John, who once played bass with The Frames, has since gone on to better (or certainly equally impressive) things directing Cillian Murphy in On The Edge and co-creating Batchelors Walk. I wonder if returning to music all these years later didn’t seem a little odd.
“It is an unusual project to do,” admits the director. “But I used to play with Glen and I’ve used his music in the films I’ve made since. So I’ve always wanted to do something more with him and tailored Once around his songs. I knew he could act because we’ve done short films together. But I was originally thinking of casting Cillian Murphy. In the end, it just made more sense to go with Glen. I know plenty of actors who can sing, but they’re not going to have the same kind of emotional relationship with the material.”
Filmed in verite tones around Dublin, Once charts the blossoming relationship between a busker who repairs vacuum cleaners for a living (Hansard) and a young Czech immigrant (Marketa Inglova) who sells flowers on the street where he works. With his new muse in place, our hero quickly incorporates his inspiration into music.
“The idea was to make a naturalistic musical,” explains John. “I’ve always wrote songs recreationally to amuse myself and I wanted to keep that low key feel. It’s not a musical where people burst into song and the orchestra strikes up. It’s a musical where a guy composes songs to his girlfriend on a battered guitar with five strings. Think of it as a video album.”
It does seem ironic, to this writer anyway, that having spent years trying to crack America with The Frames, Mr. Hansard becomes the toast of visiting Hollywood dignitaries as an actor in a micro-budget musical.
“I do think the band will do very well out of it,” says John. “The Frames are one of my favourite bands and I’ve always felt it just was a question of time before they gained more international recognition. But that was never the intention behind the film. I’m glad to help out but if The Frames break America it’ll be down to Glen’s charisma.”