'Power Ballad' Review - Sands IFF opening film - a lovely crowd pleaser about artistic ownership
The first event I attended at the fifth annual SANDS International film festival was the opening film, Power Ballad. Looking back at last year, with the opener being The Ballad of Wallis Island, its nice to see SANDS opening with another film about artistic ownership, and how music and other forms of art can mean different things to different people. Both films were great openers, making me reflect what the art form means to me.
Power Ballad, the new film from director John Carney (Sing Street, Flora and Son), stars Paul Rudd as Rick, as a former band member, who now lives in Ireland with his wife and daughter, and stars in a wedding band. While performing at a couple’s wedding in a castle, he meets Danny (played by Nick Jonas), a boyband star who is currently in a rough patch, with his label pushing him to come up with new material to try and revive his career. They play music and get drunk together, when Rick plays a song which is incredibly personal to him. 6 months later, Rick isn’t happy when he hears Danny’s new song, which sounds a little too familiar.
Just like The Ballad of Wallis Island, this one was a great crowd pleaser. The characters are all very likeable and easy to root for. Paul Rudd was great and his character is very well-written, a man who is clearly chasing a life he could have had, rather than being fully present the one he does have. Nick Jonas is also really good, playing a character who comes across as a little unlikeable and self-centred at first, but is later revealed to be more layered, someone also fighting their own demons, whom you feel sympathetic towards. The film has a lot to say about belonging, the unhealthy link between self-worth and artistic-success, and the wonderful ability of music to bring us together, and to remind us of important and delightful memories.
Overall, this was a lot of fun. It does feel a little clunky at points, with some of the establishing shots of the cities feeling a little too much like stock-video footage, and the ending of the film could have delivered its message in a more subtle way. That being said, it was still a great time and very fitting opener to the festival, with a wonderful QNA with composer Gary Clark after the film.