In a sentenceAdrian Dunbar could sell us the same concert ticket twice
Micky O’Neill (Adrian Dunbar) is a nightclub owner searching for the singer Josef Locke (Ned Beatty), an Irish tenor living in tax exile. An impersonator complicates the pursuit of the real man, while romance and the concerns of a close-knit community become part of the search. Peter Chelsom’s comedy follows Micky’s efforts to find Locke, mixing the business of entertainment with the characters’ personal lives. Tara Fitzgerald appears as Nancy Doyle, alongside Shirley Anne Field as Cathleen Doyle and William Hootkins as Mr. X.
Hear My Song is a funny, generous comedy carried by Adrian Dunbar’s nerve and Ned Beatty’s steadiness. Peter Chelsom pushes the sentiment too hard, but the search for a singer gives the charm something useful to do.
Hear My Song is a good comedy for anyone prepared to forgive a little excessive affection for its own characters. Peter Chelsom builds it around a nightclub owner’s search for the singer Josef Locke, with romance and an impersonator complicating the business. The film needs us to enjoy being persuaded by someone whose enthusiasm runs ahead of good sense. Adrian Dunbar, playing Micky O’Neill, makes that a reasonable proposition before Chelsom starts asking for more indulgence.
Dunbar has just the right degree of impudence. Micky needs to get people interested in his plans, and Dunbar makes the effort entertaining without scrubbing away the cheek. The screenplay, which he wrote with Chelsom, understands how much comedy there is in wanting something badly and expecting other people to help. We found ourselves caring whether the singer would be found. Dunbar’s eager persistence made a rather fanciful errand feel worth following.
Ned Beatty makes Josef Locke seem worth the trouble of finding. Playing the Irish tenor, he has enough assurance to justify the fuss that the story makes about him. Dunbar’s eagerness benefits from that quieter presence, which gives the comedy some welcome breathing space. Beatty is particularly good at suggesting that a man can be interesting without making a continuous effort to entertain everyone around him.
Sue Gibson’s cinematography and Caroline Hanania’s production design help make the community around the search feel worth spending time in. Their work gives the film a welcoming quality that suits Chelsom’s affection for his characters. We need to believe these people have lives beyond Micky’s undertaking, and the surroundings help. The setting makes the fanciful story feel less remote from ordinary people wanting a little entertainment and something to look forward to.
Martin Walsh’s editing lets the comic detours keep their conversational ease, although some could be shorter. The search can absorb a fair amount of wandering, but Chelsom occasionally seems reluctant to leave agreeable company behind. John Altman’s music is sympathetic to the romance, but its encouragement contributes to the film’s tendency to overstate the feeling. There are passages where a little less assistance would leave the actors better able to do their work.
This is the familiar hazard of the whimsical comedy: characters can be so determinedly endearing that we start to feel managed. Chelsom crosses that line now and then, particularly when the romantic feeling is being pressed hardest. The humour is more persuasive, because Dunbar is allowed to be impudent and Beatty does not appear to be asking for our approval. Their performances remain enjoyable when the writing becomes too insistent about how fond we should be of everyone.
Allow it its 104 minutes on an evening when a romantic comedy sounds like a reasonable proposition. It needs some tolerance for sentimentality, and is unlikely to convert anyone who has none. There is pleasure in spending time with people who can get this worked up about a singer. We would be happy to let Dunbar talk us into it again.
Most critics respond warmly to Hear My Song, with praise clustering around Peter Chelsom’s light touch, the romantic comedy’s sense of community and Adrian Dunbar’s impudent charm. The favourable reviews find that its Irish whimsy, broad humour and bittersweet romance work well together, making the search for singer Josef Locke worth caring about. They also credit Chelsom with handling sentiment confidently, though even some admirers suggest that a taste for fanciful comedy is a condition of enjoying it.
The disagreement is chiefly over how much charm and sentiment the film can sustain, and the range of opinion is wide despite the favourable majority. Variety finds the later stretches excessive, while still praising Dunbar’s lead performance. Time Out is the clear dissenter, regarding the same warmth as ingratiating and the tone as maudlin, though it makes an exception for Beatty’s performance.
An unalloyed joy that recalls the great Ealing classics of the ’50s and a four-star gem. Feature debut writer-director Peter Chelsom has a warmth and wit that could cheer up just about anybody.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film fanciful, fresh and charmingly funny, recommending it to those who enjoy whimsy while warning off those allergic to it. She singles out the true story inspiration of the Josef Locke impersonator and Chelsom's light touch in steering the sentimental climax.
Read the full review →This is a delicious confection with the right amounts of Irish whimsy, scouse nous, bittersweet romance and broad comedy. Adrian Dunbar is the personification of impudent charm.
Read the full review →The film builds a romantic comedy of great charm around a real-life Irish tenor in tax exile. It is a labor of love and wit that creates a tight-knit community and makes viewers care about the search for the singer.
Read the full review →This winning first feature has the kind of blithe, fanciful magic that can't be achieved through skill alone. It is the shaggy-dog story of a nightclub owner's search for the real Josef Locke.
Read the full review →An unabashedly romantic fantasy about a concert promoter that goes straight for the heart. By the final reels it becomes too much, but Dunbar carries off the lead role in winning fashion.
Read the full review →
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