Sing Street is the 2016 movie about a lonely teen boy starting a band in 1980's Dublin, Ireland. It stars Ferdia Walsh-Peelo as Conor Lawlor, the previously mentioned teen who lives with his deteriorating family in Dublin. His father's architecture business is failing and he is bitter and defeated. His mother, who works to help with the finances, is having an affair with her boss and is emotionally- and often physically- removed from the family. Conor's older brother Brendan is a pothead with seemingly few prospects or ambitions, while his studious sister Penny escapes the family drama in her books. At the beginning of the film, Conor's parents announce that, to save money, they are removing him from his expensive school and enrolling him in Synge Street CBS, a Catholic school which doesn't require fees. To say that his arrival at this new school filled with rough and tumble working class kids is a culture shock is a bit of an understatement. As Conor is finding his feet- literally: his shoes are confiscated by the headmaster for not being regulation black- he espies a girl who lives in what appears to be a group home across the street from the school. Slightly older and mysterious, Conor is fascinated by her and works up the courage to go over and introduce himself. Her name is Raphina and, when Conor asks why she's not in school, she replies coolly that she's a model. Thinking quickly, Conor asks if she'd like to be in a music video for his band; Raphina hints that she might not be completely adverse to the idea. The only problem is, Conor doesn't actually have a band. But, he reckons, this is a problem that can be overcome. With his new friend Darren (met after a run-in with Barry, the school bully) who appoints himself manager, Conor sets out to put together a band. Darren introduces him to Eamon, a fellow misfit who can play almost any instrument. They set up operations in Eamon's living room, their ranks swelling to include several other local kids. At first they are practicing cover songs, but Brendan, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music, a huge record collection, and was a skilled guitarist before succumbing to pot and lethargy, tells Conor that his band will need its own style and music. Inspired, Conor begins writing song lyrics, with Eamon composing the music for them. Their first collaboration is "The Riddle of the Model" for which, obviously, Raphina is the muse. Conor invites Raphina to the video shoot, which is hilariously low budget, with the boys very obviously dressed in costumes dredged up from Halloween boxes, and a single home video camera, laboriously wielded by Darren (it's huge). The resulting video is obviously bad, but not as bad as it could have been, and Conor, the eternal optimist, redoubles his efforts at song writing. The growth of the band takes place as everything else in Conor's life is coming apart: his parents' marriage is breaking up, he has trouble at school, and his budding relationship with Raphina is threatened by the presence of a boyfriend who wants her to go to London with him. Then, opportunity knocks in the form of a chance to play a live concert at the Synge Street school's end of year party. The band begins to prepare, but several blows which land at once on Conor's personal life shake his confidence and threaten his ability to lead the band. Will Sing Street make the performance? Will Conor and Raphina work things out? And will the band provide a way of escape for the boys out of their seemingly dead end existences in Dublin? (To Be Continued...)
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