The latest John Carney film, Power Ballad, premiered at SXSW on Saturday, March 14 to a packed audience at the Paramount Theatre. The film has everything viewers have come to expect from his musicals: catchy tunes, solid performances from genuinely likable actors, and a heartwarming/inspirational narrative. This time around, we have Paul Rudd playing Rick Power, an aging musician who gave up dreams of rock stardom to focus on family life and now finds himself the lead singer of a wedding cover band daydreaming of what could have been. At a particularly fancy wedding in Ireland, he encounters Danny, a fading boy-band star, played fittingly by Nick Jonas, looking to make his mark as a solo artist. During a weed-fueled and drunken jam session after the wedding, the creative juices start flowing and they begin to tinker with each other’s songs. Several months later, Danny’s career skyrockets thanks to one of Rick’s songs, for which Rick receives no credit (or royalties). When Rick sets out to (re)claim what’s his, both men are forced to (re)consider what truly matters in life and, of course, hilarity ensues.
RP: Benjamin, I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a lukewarm fan of John Carney films. It feels like people either love them or don’t care for them at all (hate feels like too strong of a word to use here). You can put me firmly in the former camp…HUGE fan here. I randomly “discovered” The Frames while living in London (saw them at a concert at an old church in the city before they really blew up), when that felt like a thing we could still do. Once captured the essence of their music and a seemingly more innocent time beautifully (gosh has it been 20 years already?)…and that was back when you could still see indie films like this on the big screen at your local theater. I saw the rapturous premieres of Sing Street and Flora & Son at Sundance and there was a similar feeling at the screening in Austin…most of the crowd seemed to LOVE the film. I’m really glad we got to see it together, what did you think?
BPG: I second your opinion on Carney – ever since Once, he’s proven himself as someone who understands the truly cinematic quality of music. It’s never as straight forward as a ‘musical’ but rather capturing the way music can elevate our lives and make them feel like more than, the way it deepens our life. And this movie is no exception! There were times where it felt like it could have easily veered off into a bit of a cartoonish comedy of revenge but instead centered itself brilliantly on the heart of the artistic struggle of what art means to the artist. Both Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas shine as figures both deeply sympathetic and yet slightly pathetic, as many creatives are. And the supporting cast – including co-writer Peter McDonald – were are all delightful.
But none of this would have worked half as well if they didn’t nail the initial meeting between these two musicians. Playing on the audience’s possible biases against a “failed” musician turned wedding singer and a floundering former boy band singer, the film challenges us to consider the line between true artistry and pop pablum. Not to get all ‘poptimism’ about it but I think this was important. And when we see that these are two undeniably talented characters who can bond over the art, the craft, of making an engaging song – one that has heart as well as hook – we are invited into the collective artistic process. It’s one thing that it eventually becomes a part of the wider world’s life but first it belongs to the inner lives of artists, both separately but truly as a community of sonic explorers. As a musician himself, Carney obviously gets this on a deep level.
RP: Don’t you think that this is tied up in his own personal story (as all of his films are)? I loved the intro where, being in Austin, he really called out his love for Richard Linklater and how much he inspired him, not only creatively, but practically as well. Linklater—like Rodriguez—just did the damn thing. That’s a direct influence on Once. Carney commented on how long it took to bring Power Ballad to the screen. There’s a bunch of reasons for why that is, but precious few of those probably applied to Once, and those reasons aren’t necessary when it comes to young or first time filmmakers struggling to make them. So there’s an interesting parallel between the main characters in the film and Carney and other filmmakers like him.
BPG: Oh absolutely – the raw immediacy of an initial artistic idea, all the passion and pluck that it takes to just bring it to life, as opposed to the later and more belabored studio machine route. I can’t remember if it was Carney or Macdonald at the Q&A who mentioned hoping young creatives would see this movie and remember that creativity and artistry is not a linear process, and that success looks like many things along the way. And that’s what surprised and delighted me most about where this movie ends up going – the resolution is about the depth of life writ large, not just the depth of the creative life trying to “make it big.” What a perfect message for so many to hear, and I imagine Carney will inspire many young filmmakers just like Linklater continues to inspire him.
Power Ballad will release in theaters nationwide on June 5th.