Song One

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Kate Barker-Froyland/Starring: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn and Mary Steenburgen

It makes sense that Jonathan Demme, renowned for Stop Making Sense, his Neil Young trilogy and other music documentaries, would be a producer on Song One; a film that is as much about music as it is a drama about how three lives are impacted by one man's struggle to survive a traffic accident. Music flows throughout the film but rather than a score or song-track providing the soundtrack, the characters themselves create a sonic atmosphere that is more than a worthy surrogate. Music serves as an emotional thread; connecting characters to one another, their respective pasts and for some, it is a way of life.

The accident that befalls a young man named Henry (Ben Rosenfield) comes after he caps off a busking gig in a New York City subway. While distracted by music playing on his headphones, he is struck by a vehicle, which leaves him hospitalized and in critical condition. While doing research on nomadic tribes in Morocco for her doctoral dissertation, his sister Franny (Anne Hathaway) learns of his accident and hurries home to be at his side. Greeting her at the hospital is her distraught mother; played with verve and poignancy by Mary Steenburgen.

While the Damoclean sword of death hangs over Henry in his comatose state, Franny sifts through her brother's personal belongings in his room at her mother's house. She comes across demo CDs' Henry has recorded and while looking through his guitar case, she finds a concert ticket for a folksy singer named James Forester, whose posters line her brother's walls.

Franny uses the ticket and in doing so, she steps into her brother's musical world and becomes moved by the experience. Afterward, she visits James (the talented singer/songwriter/actor Johnny Flynn) backstage and after mentioning her brother's comatose state, she presents him Henry's CD demo. Sensitive to Franny's brother's serious condition, James visits the hospital and plays a song to Henry as he clings to life in his bed. Touched by James' compassionate act, the two begin to hang around together and soon after a romance blossoms.

Franny spends time reading her brother's diaries and notebooks, learning of his favorite clubs and his partiality to a certain diner which has great pancakes. Visiting all his favorite places, she becomes sympathetic to his musical pursuits, which was previously a cause of contention between the two when years earlier, Henry left school against his sister's wishes to pursue a career in music.

If the story seems gimmicky and in danger of mugging by schmaltz, the material is steered toward the melancholy and somber by Barker-Froyland's direction. The actors manage to keep their performances from sliding to a melodramatic precipice.

We learn James has slipped into a creative block, which has carried on five years. Try as he might, he has had little success extricating himself from his mental impasse, which Franny, with her charm and modest musical talent, slowly draws him out of.

Furthering her quest to free her brother from his coma, Franny buys a small, vintage organ to play at his bedside. Henry's coma and James' musical block are a sort of metaphorical parallel.

As Franny and James' romance begins to burn white hot, their divergent life paths pose an obstacle to their nascent relationship.

I couldn't help but think of the film Once as I was watching Song One, and it may be the case that other film-goers might be reminded of that film as well. Both films have a bittersweet and beautiful aura of ephemeral love and music is a landscape the characters' inhabit lovingly. Both feature charming lovers whose time on screen never degenerates into cuteness and silliness one might find in any movie where Rachel McAdams is the love interest.

Whether Henry awakes is a question dealt with late in the story, and what becomes of Franny and James is left refreshingly vague and unanswered.

Barker-Froyland's first feature is moving and sweet without being cloying and melancholy without being morose.

Anne Hathaway gives a heartfelt performance, while Johnny Flynn effortlessly embodies the musical spirit of James Forester; showcasing some strong vocal chops and musicianship. I would like to have seen more of Mary Steenburgen but she electrifies her scenes; nevertheless, with presence and charm.

Song One is a film that will stimulate your tear ducts but will do so without cheesy manipulation. As they say; it earns its tears. But this isn't maudlin cinema; it's a simple story and an emotionally satisfying one. It may not be monumental, but it more than serves its purpose.