User Reviews

Director/writer Kate Barker-Froyland has offered up a deliciously simple yet emotionally complex story of a family drawn together by an unfortunate accident. Karen (mother), Franny (daughter), are forced to reexamine their family status due to Henry's (son/brother) near death accident.

Most of the movie/story is Franny learning about her brother through his notes and songs and interest in other singers and places he visits in NYC. Along the way through this path of discovery Franny meets and falls in love with a folk singer her brother admired.

There are lots & lots of Anne Hathaway face closeups and lots & lots of folk songs. I like Hathaway but the many closeups and folk songs wore a bit thin. That's the reason for the 7 in stars.

Otherwise this is a fine and thoughtful movie with excellent photography and production values. Please be aware of the lighting throughout as I do believe this is integral to setting the mood of many scenes.

Anybody with soft spot for music and sentimental lovestories will find 'Song One' difficult to resist. It follows Franny (Hathaway), her relationship with his estranged brother, and the unexpected romantic tale that blossomed between her and the musician James, Forester. No, this one's not new, we've seen countless others like this before, but in its own ways 'Song One' strikes a chord, strumming its own rhythm to make its charm carry a tune.

Yet the tune falls flat and runs off-key on moments when it's needed to speak volume for every scene's emotional sentiment. Albeit earnest and capable, the charm dispells, and what started as a haunting melody runs out of tone and tangibility. Whatever genuine sentiment 'Song One' holds in the beginning, or as a whole, the movie just falls behind extra-ordinary. You would admire Anne Hathaway as expected, but would look past her charm when drawn by the more evident flaws-- most noticeably her seemingly missing connection with Johnny Flynn, her character's love interest--pulling the tune off its proper rhythm.

'Song One', regardless of its emotional authenticity , stumbles upon its musical journey finding the right tune it could keep. It has beautiful beats and melodies to hum, but fails to turn them to something audible. It's neither terrible, nor excellent, just plain ordinary. 6/10

"Logically, when you talking' about folk music and blues, you find out it's music of just plain people." Brownie McGhee

Hardly-plain Anne Hathaway has a camera -ready head with a perfectly coiffed pixie and larger-than life lips. Good thing because Song One spends most of its 96 minutes caressing it while she moons over a folk singer. Yep, it's a romance but still not a bad one. Compared to John Carney's Once, however, it's a one note song. Considering it's writer-director Kate Barker-Froyland's debut film, it's a winner for her because of the promise it shows.

The Nicholas Sparks-like teary tropes are there: For instance, her folk singing brother, Henry (Ben Rosenfield), is in a coma while her mother (Mary Steenburgen) is eccentric and Franny (Hathaway) has been estranged from her and her brother . Enter heartthrob folksinger James Forester (Johnny Flynn), who sings sexy naturalistic songs and wins doctoral candidate Franny's heart.

The good part of this cliché is that the love grows organically, not swiftly or too cutely. Although his singing is seductive and his look shaggy handsome, he's playing down his charisma, and that angle makes Franny too low-key and mom almost hyper when she's not quite that.

Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice's music is sweet and longing, accessible for those not enamored of the folk genre. Unfortunately, the music is frequently melancholic to the extreme.

The film's strength is the organic growth of the romance and the organic neo-folk musical style that moves from street singing to full house concerts with equal grace. The weakness, however, is that nothing much else happens. For those who like authentic love stories, Song One can be first in their hearts while the rest of the audience can watch Walk the Line for some real musical drama.

"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song." Louis Armstrong

Sure, it's not mainstream, it's not for everyone but it has lots of heart and cool indie music. Perfect for a Saturday night in.

Looking through the reviews, I was initially hesitant thinking that I would not like this movie. However, I always enjoyed Anna Hathaway's acting and decided to give it a gamble. I was not disappointed.

The music in this movie was just amazing. The romance between the main characters just gives that subtle warm feeling in your heart. Though the ending was a little abrupt, I have already realised that it seems to be a common recurring theme amongst highly rated films so I'm not too picky about that.

Overall, if you just want a movie to watch, not overly emotional but gives that subtle warm feeling when the credits roll, perhaps you might want to give this movie a try.

Greetings again from the darkness. Fresh off her Oscar winning performance and infamous on screen haircut in Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway stars in this infinitely smaller film from writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland. A Sundance Film Festival entry, the movie winds through the clubs, coffee shops and second hand stores that make up the indie music scene in northern Brooklyn.

Ben Rosenfield ("Boardwalk Empire") plays Henry, the kind of musician so enamored with his own folk sound that he is willing to play for pocket change in the subway tunnels. Failing to adhere to mother rule #1, Henry pays the price for not looking both ways prior to crossing a street in front of a New York cabbie. Next thing we know, he is comatose in a hospital bed. Henry's mom (Mary Steenburgen) beckons wayward daughter Franny (Anne Hathaway) home from her worldly pursuit of a Ph.d in Anthropology.

When last they spoke Franny and brother Henry had one of those nasty sibling fights where angry words were spoken and no apology followed. It's been six months and now a guilt-ridden Franny sits by his hospital bed hoping for a shot at redemption. She soon discovers Henry's journal and begins re-tracing his favorite hang-outs and bands. This journey leads her to a meeting with Henry's musical idol James Forester (played by Johnny Flynn). Lacking suspense, the story leads right where one would expect – James and Franny taking a liking to each other, Franny discovers her own love for music, and the songwriting block that has burdened James slowly breaks down.

The film is at its best in the musical moments. Flynn is a very talented guy as a musician (not so much as an actor), and 5 or 6 live musical acts make appearances as the story unfolds. Most of the quiet scenes between Hathaway and Flynn seem a bit awkward, but not awkward in the good way that leads to real romance. Connection and re-connection are quite common in times of tragedy, as we are at our most emotionally vulnerable state. The biggest issue here is that everything develops just as we would expect … no surprises, no twists. Even the re-connection of Franny and her mother is a sweet scene where Franny sings along to America's "I Need You".

Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley fame) and Jonathan Rice co-wrote the original songs used in the film, and as stated, a hand full of other bands perform their own material. For a musically based romantic drama, it does have a couple of really nice scenes, but for the most part, the drama and romance lag the music.

-Song One (2015) movie review: -Song One is a romance based drama about a girl who seeks out her brother's favorite musician after her brother is hit by a car and put into a coma.

-As a described that, I realized how much this film sounds like a generic music film combined with a generic Lifetime drama. That is about as thorough as I can be to how not-good this film is.

-The story lacked any motivation, and therefor dragged on without cause.

-The pace is the same as the story, which means it just drags on…. and on…. and on….

-The acting was unimpressive. It stars Anne Hathaway who just moped around the entire time. Mary Steenburgen who plays the same character she always plays. And Johnny Flynn as the most introverted musician I have ever seen.

-The characters are just how I described the actors.

-The music was very forgettable, for a film about music.

-A film like this did not need an ambiguous ending.

-I am trying to think of anything else to say about it. It is not terrible, it just is not good. I smiled once. Once.

-Song One is rated PG-13 for some brief language and a very suggestive scene.

-Song One was not impressive or entertaining, and even though it was not terrible, Song One is not worth the 2 hours.

Estranged from her mother and brother after a trifling argument, PhD student Franny is photographing nomads in Morocco when she gets a message her street musician sibling Henry has been left in a coma after being hit by a taxi in NYC. She returns to the US to sit regretfully by his hospital bed, thinking up ways to rouse him from his oblivion. She soon discovers he admired another folk singer called James, and engineers a meeting with the young fellow at one of his gigs. The next day Franny is joined at Henry's bedside by this sensitive balladeer, and the relationship soon develops a lukewarm romantic element.

Unfortunately there's nothing remarkable about this unambitious project - the acting of the two leads is adequate, but the narrative arc of these characters doesn't possess sufficient vitality to make the film memorable in any way. There are no surprises, mysteries or dramatic moments as the gelatinous flow of this lightweight tale is broken up at regular intervals by some forgettable songs. 'Song One' provides little more than a slow-moving, low-key experience until it eventually arrives at a predictable conclusion.

Not a directorial masterpiece but the storyline was lovely and sound mixing and soundtrack were excellent. The film has a very mellow tone throughout and should be a hit with any genuine admirer of the acoustic music scene.

I've rated 7/10 for Anne Hathaway's beautiful portrayal of a humble and shy character, and the feast for the ears that is this film's sound; both in songs and the sound of the cityscape it celebrates so well.

Although i don't relate to the characters, the quiet progression of the film does not reflect on the ability of the actors so i disagree with some of the comments above. This is more of a situation film and the ending does not evoke the feeling of too much sugar in your mouth like other films of the same genre.

A pleasant if not especially memorable indie, Song One would have slipped completely under the radar and off the grid if not for Anne Hathaway, its star and producer. Hathaway's name alone - not to mention her singing chops, as demonstrated to Oscar-winning effect in Les Miserables - would have brought in audiences eager to hear her sing her heart and soul out again about the horrors of life and men. Here's the thing though: she doesn't sing (much), though her character does experience quite a few ups and downs where the men in her life are concerned. Instead, the film uses its frequent musical interludes to sketch out a sweet if rather underwhelming story of family, loss and connection.

Franny (Hathaway) is working on her thesis in Morocco when she receives a call from her weeping mother, Karen (Mary Steenburgen) - Henry (Ben Rosenfield), the little brother she barely understands and had stopped speaking to after a fight, is in a coma after a car accident. Returning home to take up a vigil at Henry's bedside, Franny tries to connect with her brother through the music and musicians he loves. As she retraces the path of her brother's life through tiny hole-in-the- wall clubs across New York City, she meets and finds herself drawing closer to James Forrester (Johnny Flynn), Henry's favourite indie musician.

You can't fault writer-director Kate Barker-Froyland for ambition. She blends three story lines, each capable of carrying its own film, into Song One - there's the heartwrenching family drama about how people must try to survive when death hovers nearby; a quirky romantic comedy about two unlikely souls finding each other; and a brooding treatise on the vagaries of the indie music industry. She mixes and mashes up the ideas and concepts reasonably well, as Henry's coma prompts his sister to explore a world composed of song and lyric - one in which she previously had no interest.

The first half of the film is grittier and grimmer in tone, buoyed by a pair of sad, weary and very truthful performances from Hathaway and Steenburgen - mother and daughter smarting at the thought of losing Henry, while pushing each other away with all the love in their hearts. The unexpected friendship that Franny develops with James also begins in a charmingly bittersweet fashion - he turns up out of the blue to strum his guitar at Henry's bedside, providing the soundtrack to Franny's desperate pleas for her brother to wake up.

But Song One unravels a little as it goes on. Gritty gives way to predictable, and it's hard to care as much when the family tragedy takes a backseat to the unfolding romance between Franny and James. This shift in focus isn't helped by the fact that Flynn, who possesses a good singing voice, is a slightly blank presence on screen - he's never outright bad, but it's hard to glean much of James' supposedly sensitive soul from his performance, forcing his words or music to do the job.

Speaking of the music: the score and original songs by indie rock duo Jenny & Johnny are amiable enough - they've evocative, in parts, but never so catchy as to be really memorable. The exceptions are Afraid Of Heights, a cute little improvised ditty that nicely sums up the relationship between Franny and James; Silver Song, a heartfelt number that ties itself in quite effective, heartbreaking fashion into the narrative; and Little Yellow Dress, which sports lyrics so strange that the song threatens to jolt viewers right out of the film.

Like the deeply earnest clutch of indie songs that form its soundtrack, Song One is a largely pleasant, if not entirely pleasing, experience. The film hints at depth and layers that don't quite bear up under scrutiny. At least Barker-Froyland doesn't descend completely into mawkish predictability in the final frames, instead bringing the film to a close on a sweetly tentative note that could hold as much grief as hope. It's an ending (or, perhaps, a beginning) that makes the entire journey worth it - almost.

I will keep this short and sweet, like the film. Im sad this movie has such low review, this movie wasn't exactly as I expected it to be but after watching it I realized it was exactly what it should be and that's what makes this movie special. This is a movie I will remember and gladly watch a second time. If you aren't sure about this film, I think it is worth a watch if not for any other reason than to kill time. It just might surprise you and leave you with the warm feeling it left with me. Although the reason why I gave it only nine stars is because the movie ended with a little more mystery than i would have liked, I like a film to ease me into the fact that such a beautiful story is ending. At the same time I'm torn, I like an ending that makes me wonder and keeps me on my toes as well.

This film is so charming and I wanted to see more at the end.

"You know when you have a feeling that you don't want to fade away, but you don't really know how to keep it?" Franny (Hathaway) has removed herself from her family and is living her own life. When her brother is in an accident she returns home. She begins to look at his life and what he loves. Attending a concert that he was going to go to changes everything. This movie has very good music, the bad thing about that though is that that is the reason to watch. The movie itself is a little slow and generic. I really wanted to like this and tried, but when the music wasn't going on you could tell what was going to happen from line to line. I'm not saying this isn't worth seeing, but Begin Again mixed story and music together so perfectly that it just shows you need both in order to make a good movie. Overall, good music and an OK movie. I give this a B-.

This film tells the story of a woman whose musician brother got hit by a car and became comatose. In the process of grieving, she becomes more than friends with the brother's favourite singer.

The Chinese title of this film in Hong Kong is "New York Love Chords", so I would be excused to think it's a romantic comedy involving music. The film turns or to be a sombre offering, with Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn saying sorry for each other on numerous occasions. The pace is slow, and nothing happens in the film. Anne Hathaway is quite good in the film, but I'm quite surprised by Johnny Flynn's portrayal of a very shy, bordering on socially awkward musician. Not only does his character appear lacking in confidence, he could not even hold eye contact with the person he's talking to. I can't believe he's the same charismatic guy in "Clouds of Sils Maria" that I watched just two days ago.

"Song One" turns out to be a great bore. I wish I didn't bother watching it.

There's something about Anne Hathaway. I'd pay good money to see a film in which all she does is recite a soup can label - she's that wonderful. So I watched Song One, but only because of her. I thought the music was wispy and annoying, the lyrics were absurd, and the character played by Johnny Flynn unbelievable. However, Anne's meandering about New York and discovering her brother's favorite places was reminiscent of my own slightly melancholy time in NYC in the mid 90s, so I liked that. Also, always great to see Mary Steenburgen, who brings so much to any role she takes. The film is very slow, but that's not a bad thing in this case - it's really a mood. It's pretty stress-free, which I can appreciate, but even with the luminous presence of Miss Hathaway, I don't think I could watch this a second time without muting every single song.

The heading is really nothing to do with the film other than that Anne Hathaway and Johnny flynn remind me vaguely of Winona Ryder And Ethan Hawkes in the aforementioned film.

It's watchable, in that it's inoffensive and the musical interludes as they attend various gigs are truly uplifting. However nothing really feels pressing about the film. You don't really fear for the brothers life, James doesn't seem to bothered one way or the other about his career or his music or his fans, and Frannie is a bit too one dimensional. It's best aspect is the showcasing of NY music scene. I'm a sucker for music driven love stories so this ticked quite a few of my boxes... ;)

"Song One" is the musical equivalent of dead air. I've had problems with movies like "Once" and "Begin Again" in the past, so interested in creating ach-y musicals about wounded characters, all to the tune of whiney songs, that they never rise above predictable and dull. And yet I'm tempted to praise those after watching "Song One", a film that seems to have even less conflict, even more sullen-faced characters, and almost no energy to its straight-forward story telling. It's the kind of romance that would make a Kathryn Heigl film look like it was made by Stanley Kubrick. Anne Hathaway produced this first feature from Kate Barker-Froyland and also stars in it as Franny, a humanitarian called back to New York when her subway-musician brother's accident leaves him in a coma. During her time back, she meets her brother's hero- James Forrester (Johnny Flynn), a musician who hasn't recorded in the five years since his girlfriend left him. He needs inspiration, she needs to forgive her brother for dropping out of college to become a musician. There ya go in a nut shell. It's a plot so simplistic that Hathaway couldn't even promote the thing on "The Daily Show" last week without giggling. Notice she didn't do that with Les Miserable's Fantine (although "hahaha she loses her job, sings a song with a bunch of tears and snot on her face, then dies hahahaha" would have been hilarious). Anyway, we know where this is all going, James and Franny are nothing more than lost, wandering bores whenever they're not together, a scene where James serenades her unconscious brother is meant to be beautiful but just looks clumsy, and there are no insights, from the creative process to the grieving process, other than both work better with a sex buddy. Franny is a role that gives Hathaway nothing to do other than practice crying and giving looks of concern. Johnny Flynn is a talented musical performer but that doesn't change the fact that you forget the music, which comes courtesy of Jenny Lewis (from the indie band Rilo Kiley) and her boyfriend Johnathan Rice, almost immediately after it ends. Otherwise he's kinda glum too, unless they're together, in which case sometimes they smile. It's a romance built on almost nothing other than needing whoever is in close proximity. Showcasing some really talented performers around the city, it's too bad "Song" has to keep its proximity closest to these two.

Song One (2014) Director: Kate Barker-Froyland Watched: 8/12/18 Rating: 6/10

Minimalist charm. Anne's keen, wistful performance. A folk music ode- To grief, regrets, life's frailty. To love, siblings, forgiveness.

Too slow and lacks verve. Girl falls for comatose bro's Musician idol? Far-fetched plot hard to accept. Tries- but 'tis no "Once".

Somonka is a form of poetry that is essentially two tanka poems (the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format), the second stanza a response to the first. Traditionally, each is a love letter and it requires two authors, but sometimes a poet takes on two personas. My somonka will be a love/hate letter to this film?

#Somonka #PoemReview #MinimalDialogue #Music #NewYork

Franny Ellis (Anne Hathaway) is in Morocco working on her anthropology PhD thesis. She returns home to NYC after her mother (Mary Steenburgen) informs her that her brother Henry is in a coma after getting hit by a car. He's an aspiring musician which she had argued against. She contacts his favorite musician James Forester (Johnny Flynn) to show him some of Henry's work. They develop a relationship.

Hathaway is doing good work. The story is dripping in sincerity but it doesn't have any intensity. The drama is kept at a very low key. There is simply nothing new or exciting. The story is so thin that it threatens to blow away.

You'd get more value watching 3 layers of paint dry. Anne Hathaway's hair was more developed than any of the characters. I can never get back the time I wasted on this film but here is hoping I can save yours!

I am quite amazed at the bad reviews. This is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in some time. Incredibly well acted...exceptional music and performances. The sensibility of this film is so unique.Poetic in its delivery, it doesn't just hand you every emotion. You actually have to tap in and feel them for yourself. For me this movie does so effortlessly. Thank you for making this film. I bought it and will watch it often.

Review: When I saw the box office takings for this movie, I really thought that there was a typing error but now I have seen it, I'm not surprised. The pace is really slow and nothing major happens in the film for ages. Its about a girl, Franny (Anne Hathaway) who has to travel home from India to be with her brother, who is in a coma after being in a car accident. She then moves in with her distant mum and she studies her brothers diary which explains his life as a busker. She then tracks his footsteps and goes to the clubs and bars that he has visited and she starts getting into the music that he listens to. Whilst going through his things, she finds a ticket to a concert of his favourite artist, James Forester (Johnny Flynn) so she goes to the concert to feel closer to her brother. She then gives Forester one of his demos, which he is quite impressed with and he goes to the hospital to meet up with her to pay his respects. From there, a relationship begins between the hot superstar Forester and the the grieving Franny who is hoping that her brother will wake up out of his coma. As Forester is leaving to play in different gigs around the world, they enjoy there brief time together before he hits the road again. I was hoping for a bit more from the movie but I personally found it quite boring and the performances weren't that great. Don't get me wrong, Hathaway showed great emotion throughout the movie, especially towards her brother who was in a coma through most of the movie but the whole project seemed cold and there just wasn't enough material to make it interesting. Johnny Flynn's character seemed distant through most of the movie and there wasn't much depth to his character. Anyway, I personally found the movie quite dull and depressing so it has to get the thumbs down from me. Disappointing!

Round-Up: This is the first major movie release for the South African born Johnny Flynn, 32, so I can only comment on his performance in this movie, which wasn't that great. He seemed a bit dead behind the eyes most of the time and he kept on looking at people like they were speaking another language. He was quite an impressive guitar player/singer, especially when he mixed it up with the violin but there wasn't enough emotion from him as an actor. Anne Hathaway, 32, has the Intern with Robert DeNiro coming out later this year so I'm sure that she will put the disappointing box office takings for this movie behind her. In total, her movies have grossed over $2Billion, which include the Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Les Miserables, Alice in Wonderland, Brokeback Mountain and her famous role as Andy Sachs in the Devil Wears Prada so this mediocre movie can just go down as a bad day at the office. This is the first major release for director Kate Barker-Froyland so she's pretty new to the game. She done well when it came to the emotion aspect to the movie but for entertainment, it really failed. The corny love story took way too long to get going, even though it was predictable from the start and the ending was sketchy and badly put together. Anyway, the money that the film lost explains that it really isn't that great so I'm not the only one that found it pretty boring.

Budget: $6million Worldwide Gross: $32,000 (Terrible)

I recommend this movie to people who are into their emotional drama/music about a girl who travels home to be with her brother whose in a coma after a fatal car accident. 2/10

Song One is the journey to redemption. It's the story about love and grief, music and the courage to redeem yourself. I enjoyed this movie. It was quite short but it still didn't feel too short. This was a story that needed to be told in a few words and had it been told in too many words it would have been too much. The movie had a great soundtrack and a meaningful message carrying it all the way to the end. The hopeless romantic in me hated the unpredictability of the movie, but on the other hand, the movie-fanatic in me absolutely loved it.

Worst case of overacted under acting I have ever seen! The 2 leads are trying soooo hard to to make this an "indie" film. Endless shots of Anne Hathaway walking around Brooklyn looking melancholy and deliberately awkward dialogue.that is so cringy it made me anxious!