Flora And Son - Movie Review

Critics Score - 7 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been lighting up the silver screen since he was just a kid, back in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, with roles in Beethoven and A River Runs Through It, where I remember first seeing him. His natural charm and charismatic nature has taken him far on the Hollywood scene, from comedic roles as a teen in 10 Thing I Hate About You, to action packed mind benders like Looper and Inception. Whatever audiences everywhere are after, he’s got it, and although he’s not the main character in his new film, Flora And Son, in many ways he steals the show. Flora And Son is a family drama about a mother and son who’ve got a difficult relationship, to say the least, and Gordon-Levitt plays a guitar instructor that the main protagonist, Flora, takes lessons from and starts to get a thing for, along with the rest of us. The musical inspiration and melodies are what the film hangs it’s hat on, it’s themes of music bringing people together are relatable and Gordon is such a delight in every scene he’s in. It’s hard to not get caught up in the moment and enjoy yourself, although this film isn’t doing anything revolutionary and ultimately ends up being a bit anticlimactic. While there are better inspirational musical movies out there, you could certainly do worse than spending a hour and a half with the latest big screen duo, Flora And Son.

SYNOPSIS - We’re introduced to Flora (Eve Hewson) in the opening shot of the film as she runs, in slow motion, mouth agape, through a corridor of people, some standing and some sitting at tables. There are lights flashing and upbeat techno music begins to pump louder and louder into our ears as she hits the club’s dance floor. The next shot selection is of Flora getting her dance on, getting her drink on, and eventually getting hit on by a middle aged guy who’s cringe pick up line after they exchange names is, “I’m going to be riding you later.” We continue the cringe theme as she’s dancing while hitting on a different guy right before his girlfriend walks up. Then Mr. Riding You Later, seemingly after he’s figured out that she’s flamed out with her advances with the other men at the club, begins dancing closer and closer. The scene eventually cuts to Flora waking up the following morning, she sits up in bed and looks beside her and after seeing no one, she breathes a sigh of relief and falls back on the sheets. But we’re not fooled and soon Mr. Riding bursts through the door with a cheerful “Morning!”, which immediately generates her to sit up in bed and shout an expletive. Later that morning after he departs, she goes to visit her teenage son Max (Orén Kinlan) at some sort of boarding house for wayward boys, he’s been caught stealing and an officer questions Flora and Max about how they can keep him out of a Juvenile Detention Center.

As the day continues, we watch Flora at her job as a nanny, watching a baby for a well-to-do mother, she gets paid and leaves, but not before slipping an extra bill out of the mother’s purse on her way out. Despite their propensity to steal and swear, which the film is chock full of profanity by the way, these two curse like sailors, but the screenplay serves these characters well, Flora and Max are flawed, but we come around to root for them as the story progresses. As she leaves the woman’s home, she passes by a nearby dumpster, she walks up a ramp and among some pieces of old furniture and used building materials, she produces a dusty guitar in need of some repair work. She gets it fixed up and presents it to her son some days later for his birthday, but after he rejects it and they exchange some nasty words back and forth, she throws the guitar across the room where it lands with a thud behind their couch. We meet Max’s deadbeat, wannabe musician father Ian (Jack Reynor), whose one claim to fame was that his band opened for Snow Patrol over a decade prior, and we get the sense that neither of Max’s parents have much of a vested interest in the youth. But as Flora finally decides to start taking lessons to learn the abandoned guitar, she comes across another washed-up singer/songwriter out in L.A. named Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and midway through the first act the film starts picking up some momentum. As Flora and Jeff’s lessons continue, their relationship progresses, their interactions inspire each other musically and at the same time, Flora also begins to connect with her son, Max’s talents of being a sound mixer and keyboardist lead each other to discover a common interest and the two begin to bond. The music they discover along the way is inspiring and the relationships between Flora and Jeff and her son are easy to get invested in, but before the bus ride finale of the film can drop us off at our destination, without giving anything away, it suddenly breaks down and leaves the viewer stranded on the roadside.

Speaking to the film’s themes that resonate throughout the runtime, those of musical inspiration, artistic creativity and the process behind the melodies, these are all fascinating and delightful to see portrayed, especially when they are featuring Gordon-Levitt. But the direction and screenplay from John Carney both suffered quite heavily from a lack of focus and story progression. Although these characters have some nice arcs and are well written and likable, the screenplay seemed to have been written and the film made with more of an idea or overall concept than with actual satisfying character conclusions and plot lines in mind. The cast is solid, especially the lead Eve Hewson, the chemistry between her and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic, we come to care about these characters quite a bit, but when the flat ending with little to no resolution for anybody comes around, we’re left with very little left to hold onto and care about in relation to the film. And sure, plenty of films, like in real life, remain ambiguous and don’t wrap up every plot line with a neat little bow, but Flora And Son ends so abruptly, it’s borders on being off-putting and feels disjointed. Aside from the missteps the finale makes, the musical elements in the film are really great, the beats and melodies are catchy and weaving guitar lessons into the love story as it unfolds I found rather engaging and fun. There was a great, maybe even a really great film here, but it lay in either the hands of another director or after a few more rewrites of the script. If you’re keen on catching up with a new musical love story, there’s little doubt you’ll enjoy your hour and a half with this latest film to hit Apple TV+.

SUMMARY - For single parents, especially single mothers or parents of troubled teens, this film will hit closer to home and might be more emotionally resonant and impactful. But for other general audiences, taking this musical journey with Flora And Son might end up being simultaneously inspiring and enjoyable but unfortunately a forgettable trip down the rabbit hole of music and love.