Song Sung Blue | Film Review

 

Two performers, Claire (Kate Hudson) and Mike (Hugh Jackman) form a Neil Diamond tribute band and soon begin to find connection in both the music, and each other.

This isn't one that I thought I'd be writing an Oscar post about but there we are! I was looking forward to seeing this one, but the description was quite vague so I wasn't exactly sure what it was about.

I liked this film more than I thought I would.

For a start, Hudson and Jackman have great chemistry. They work really well with each other and it's fun to see them together.

The singing sections of the film are great, even if you don't know the songs. But in the beginning, when it's just song after song after song, it feels like that's all there is to the film. So it's nice when the music slows down and we get to go deeper into the characters' lives.

The first hour of the film felt too drawn out. It was more focused on the songs and didn't really let you get to know who these people are.

But then after this, it takes a turn and suddenly becomes really interesting. The themes are flipped, the story changes, the characters step up and it becomes almost a different film entirely.

The further you get in, the less you want, or need, to hear the musical numbers.

The performances were great. Hudson and Jackman were great in these roles, though I do find Hudson's award nominations surprising as I didn't feel strongly about her performance or character. I will say, though, that I really liked Ella Cartwright, who plays Rachel - to me she was one of the best parts of the film. The character had development and an arc that was fun to watch.

Though speaking of development, I felt that the development of Claire happened a bit too quickly. After the incident, we see a natural change, and although the film made it clear that time passed, for the audience there was so little time between her change and her return to some sort of normal. It would have been interesting to see a more lasting impact.

This isn't what you think it will be at all, which definitely works in its favour.

Overall this was a mixed bag. Ultimately it's getting a higher score from me because of how surprised I was by the turn of events, and I did find it touching by the end, but some of the praise is still surprising to me.

7/10