Sing Street review ★★★★★ "Defies you not to be charmed"

Once director John Carney defies audiences not to walk away charmed by his joyous new musical comedy.

A coming-of-age love story and born cult classic, Sing Street follows Irish teenager Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), who transfers from his comfortable life to the rough, local Catholic school. Falling immediately in love with the mysterious Raphina (Lucy Boynton), Conor makes it his mission to impress her. The route to instant coolness? Start a band!

Inspired, says Carney, by all the things he never dared do as a boy in Dublin, it’s no wonder Sing Street’s optimism is so palpable. An ode to music and young love, Sing Street is rife with out-loud laughs and heartwarming affection.

There’s something here of Richard Ayoade’s Submarine, but where Craig Roberts’ character was unlikeable, Walsh-Peelo’s is immensely so – surprisingly self-assured, youthfully optimistic and amorously determined. There’s an air, too, of Richard Curtis in Sing Street’s authenticity and unapologetic British charm.

Based on Carney’s own experiences as a boy in Dublin, Sing Street revels in its era, laughing sagely at the kitsch innovations of the eighties musical revolution. The age of Human League, Video Killed the Radio Star, Duran Duran and The Cure is wonderfully evoked as Conor – quickly nicknamed ‘Cosmo’ – seeks out own unique ‘sound’ beside a cheerful band of youngsters. These include the musically-talented but rabbit-obssessed Eamon, played with deadpan eccentricity by Mark McKenna.

An excellent supporting cast of Aiden Gillen, Jack Reynor and Maria Doyle Kennedy give the younger actors room to breathe under Carney’s careful scripting – with Boynton and Walsh-Peelo more than stealing the show.

Often we can’t tell whether Sing Street’s soundtrack is brilliantly awful or awfully brilliant, but we quickly stop caring. What’s great about Carney’s film is its unapologetic positivity: a rare lack of cynicism lifts the script, but there’s enough comic bite and light irony to stop Sing Street becoming too cringeworthy.

Destined to be a cult classic, Sing Street defies its audience not to leave the cinema utterly charmed. A joyous ode to the eighties, Sing Street is a cup of tea and a cuddle. Watch it.