Although I had never seen any of John Carney’s work before, I had been aware of his dedication to the musical dramedy genre. His filmography, which spans over 20 years, has quietly cemented itself as a beloved canon of films that integrate the sonic medium into the silver screen. From directing cult classics such as Sing Street and Once to even composing music for his films’ soundtracks, a clear image of Carney formed in my brain as an artist who has never wavered in his love for music. This passion projected onto my expectations for his ninth feature film, Power Ballad, in which I had assumed the narrative’s focus would remain solely on the characters’ love for the craft of music as an art form. 

For a short while it is. When wedding singer Rick Power (Paul Rudd) meets former boy-band member Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) whilst playing at a wedding, it is the first time anyone has truly reciprocated his love language of songwriting. A jam session immediately ensues, and they find that their individual passion for music mirrors the other’s so well. In these raw and unfiltered moments, they both connect over living and breathing music. Rick eventually shares his fears of never being able to find an audience that will want to listen to his original work, whilst Danny shares that he is worried that the world won't take him seriously as a musician once he releases his debut solo album. 

It is then to Rick’s utter surprise that, six months later. Danny has stolen one of the songs he sang during this jam session. This mounts the questions of, “What happens when the singing of our two main characters turns into shouting?” and “What happens when the mirror that once displayed them as kindred spirits becomes fractured?”

Carney then asks the audience to consider something entirely different. A film about music ownership turns into a film about partnership. 

Instead of indulging further in solely deconstructing the language of music, Carney turns up the volume of other love languages that exist together with music, ones that have become quietly naturalised within our lives. Whilst Rick attempts to search for evidence that he is the original writer of the song, he is tuned out by corporate executives, allowing for the audience to focus on the love that is present with him through this crises: his unquestioned acts of service for his daughter, Aja (Beth Fallin) who needs EUR€90 football boots, small moments of physical touch from his wife, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett) and hilarious words of affirmation from his fellow band member, Sandy (Paul McDonald).

This subversion of expectation in depicting the holistic nature of love is also present within the film’s soundtrack. As Carney has described his films to be “visual albums”, I had expected more original work to be featured within Power Ballad. However, it is primarily made up of covers of hit songs played by Rick and his wedding band. This works so effectively in Carney’s exploration of the meanings we attach to music. Like how people communicate using different love languages, people will also have different reasons to love a song. What matters most is that this love is acknowledged.

Ergo, whilst Rick and Danny’s musical partnership has ended (for now), Carney’s sweet narrative depicts that the true ownership of art is to be found in ensuring that the communal love that was poured into constructing it is always present. The multitude of Rick’s life partnerships are what help provide meaning to his music. It is here that the cyclical relationship between music and all forms of love is evident. Music thrives with the presence of shared love and music can help nurture different partnerships. A father and daughter. A wife and husband. A bride and groom. Even two best friends in a band! His sincere direction of music is therefore difficult not to fall in love with. Hence, whilst the depictions of the corporate world as Danny’s only audience becomes repetitively caricaturish at times and there is just enough of Aja and Rachel to complete Rick’s arc, Power Ballad is ultimately still a love story I will always smile for. 

Many other seeds for a crowd-pleasing film are firmly planted within the acting and musical performances that you cannot help but laugh and tap your foot along to. Rudd is so great in the role of Rick as a dad, husband, wedding singer and singer-songwriter. He deconstructs the multidimensionality of Rick’s personhood with ease, especially in his surprising moments of anger. Jonas’ typecasting also works well here and although his singing voice is not for me, I know there are Nick Jonas fans out there who will appreciate its unique qualities. Whilst I may not be adding Nicholas Jonas to my queue of albums to listen to, Power Ballad is a film I will sing along to time and time again.