Going into “Once,” I was looking to see how it executed one thing in particular – telling a love story based around the idea of music.

The glaring problem with most movies involving music is they don’t appeal to people who are not musically knowledgeable. It’s as if those involved with the typical and cliché music films tend to feel that if you don’t get the music language and terminology associated with the movie, then it likely isn’t for you. But, it isn’t a hard job to make a story and characters appeal to people enough that they can ignore the musical portions of the film and still get something out of it if they, in fact, don’t know a thing about music. “Once” is a perfect example.

A vacuum repair man, played by Glen Hansard, spends his time off of work writing music and playing his guitar in the streets to get money from passers-by. Along comes a lady with a broken vacuum and some musical knowledge of her own, played by Marketa Irglova, and sparks immediately fly.

Choosing to make the two main characters nameless is somewhat of a bold move, but works out perfectly for the film’s overall goal. By giving the characters a name, it solidifies the idea they are, in fact, not the viewer but other people. A lot of effort goes into making the characters in “Once” come across as if they were the viewer. Ultimately, the film’s goal is to make us connect with the characters to the point where we can identify as one.

The editing and camera work is another thing that aids in this identification. Perhaps it is a result of the films 17-day shooting
schedule and miniscule budget, but many scenes include extended shots of the two characters simply just playing music or having believable, but rather pointless dialogue. It helps to solidify the connection the two characters are having, and makes the viewer root for their connection to work out in the end. It also aids in bringing out the film’s impeccable humor, something that isn’t commonly associated with the film’s “little
indie that could” reputation, but perhaps should be.

All these things add up to the film’s amazing ability to get across the sense of realism. The two main actors are realistic looking, which may sound a bit odd, but really in a world of Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey movies, it is a breath of fresh air to see two normal looking people have a meaningful connection over music and not just a simple sexual attraction.

It would have been relatively easy for those involved in “Once” to make a movie about musical connection between two people and left those who really have no musical knowledge whatsoever in the dust. But instead it makes an appealing movie to really whoever is watching. If a person wants to connect with the music more, they can. If a person wants to connect and identify with the two characters’ connection, they can. If they want to connect with both, they can. Being allowed to do this, to have this choice, and to have a movie work both angles so well is a rarity, and one that really, when it comes, along should be something to behold.

– Scott Hansen