WRITTEN & DIRECTED by John Carney
STARRING: Eve Hewson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Oren Kinlan and Jack Reynor
As single mother Flora (Eve Hewson) struggles with her own life path, and the path her teenage son Max (Oren Kinlan) is wondering down too, it seems that finding a place of tranquility in which the two of them can cohabitate… is nothing but a far-off dream.
When Flora finds an old guitar in a dumpster, she thinks this might be the type of thing her son Max can focus on, keeping him off the streets, and out of jail.
But when Max is less than enamored with this gift, Flora figures someone might as well enjoy learning how to play the instrument, as she embarks on her own awakening journey, learning to play the guitar.
But how’s a girl in Dublin going to find an instructor that can keep her interest and focus, and that she can afford…well, on the internet of course, although most of these guys seem either creepy or full of themselves.
That is until she runs across Jeff, (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the rather demure and humble guy from LA…who for $20 a lesson, can teach you too the wonders of playing the guitar.
Now, as Flora finds solace in her life – with her weekly sessions with Jeff, even though he is half a world away, it seems son Max is finding his own path in music along the way too, but his music compilations are digitally based, as he creates not only fantastic tracks, but some pretty kick-ass lyrics to go with his little melodies.
And as mother and son find solace in the tranquility that creating music brings, it seems that creating music may also be the place where they can finally connect with one another…
I give FLORA and SON a rating of 4 out of 5 Stars: Eve Hewson (Bono’s daughter) is fantastic as a single mother struggling with her own demons, while trying to keep her sometimes very ungrateful son, out of jail. Young Oren Kinlan is fabulous too, playing the son that truly wants a life in music – just like his dad – but struggles on how to bring it all to fruition, especially with his mother constantly trying to control his life! But the real excitement for me with this film, came in the presence of seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt back on screen. I just love this guy as an actor, and as a human for that matter, and it’s been way too long since I’ve seen his presence on film. I used to love seeing/hearing the little ditties that Joseph and Zoe Deschanel used to do back in the day…and his playing the guitar instructor, also struggling with his own life path, was perfectly suited for him. The only thing that took away from this film for me was the ending, as I longed for more closure, more romance, more direction in how everyone’s lives are truly going to play out. But maybe, just maybe, that’s the point Director/Writer John Carney is trying to make with his ending…because when it’s all said and done, no one knows exactly where their own life path is going to end up, until we reach the end…
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 