Apple TV+’s Flora and Son Musical Slipped Under the Radar

In the top of 2024, Apple TV+ Musical theatre fans everywhere are disappointed with the cancellation of the beloved musical parody, Schmidtdon!The series was unique and had such an outstanding cast that it's hard to believe that wasn't the only reason it was saved. However, The distributor is slowly making a name for itself as a home for quality musicals.which continues to release hit films such as the 2022 Oscar-winning film, CodaHowever, not every musical has been well received by critics. and commercial recognition of that Coda Director John Carney has directed his 2023 feature film, Flora and her sonwas dropped without much fanfare from the larger musical theater community.

Flora and her son Stars Eve Hewson from Bad sistersa BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated crime mystery series also streaming on Apple TV+. Bad sisters The series proved to be a darkly comedic vehicle for its talented cast, being renewed for a second season shortly after its initial release. Flora and her sonHewson plays a young mother to her angsty teenage son, Max. When we first meet them, they are aimless, turning to vice and getting into trouble to distract themselves. It is only when they fall in love with music that they are finally able to lift themselves to a higher level, as well as bond with each other.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in a supporting role in Flora and Son.

Flora and her son The film is set in Dublin, Ireland, but when Flora searches for guitar teachers online, she comes across Jack, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is teaching virtually from Los Angeles. She chooses Jack based on her attraction to him, but also because, she says, he instantly calms her down. Seems “real” compared to all the exaggerated salesperson characters I've found..

When asked why she wanted to learn to play the guitar, Flora jokingly replies that she wanted to be “sexy,” and leans into all the superficial aspects of her personality at first so as not to let her guard down. However, she eventually admits that she has always been drawn to music. Over the course of the film, Jack helps turn this interest into a full-fledged passion.

John Carney illustrates this transformation with a particularly poignant shot. Whenever Flora is moved by one of Jack's performances, whether by his soothing voice and/or the song he's singing, the camera pans 360 degrees until Jack is no longer sitting at her computer screen but right next to her. This speaks to the universal experience of feeling that you experience through a song and/or music. —they feel so personally affected that it feels like they’re right there in the room with you. It’s a device that could easily have been clichéd if overused or if it was used in a montage rather than a quiet, breathtaking moment. Instead, it’s effective, and the duo’s chemistry adds another texture to an already richly textured story.

The phenomenon of musicals as a love letter to music itself

Flora and her son This work is another entry into the growing genre of “musicals about music.” Coda The film revolves around a child from a family of deaf adults (CODA) who tries to balance her family obligations (to them as an interpreter and to their struggling fish-selling business) with her growing passion for music and singing. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is a shy 17-year-old girl with a maturity far beyond her years. She always puts her family first, and knows that they need her to help with basic tasks like going to the doctor. Not only that, but she also She really feels this protective instinct.Her unique position as an interviewer has enabled her to see how incomprehensible and insulting the hearing world is to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

When she joins her school choir, she (literally) finds her own voice.Her choir teacher, Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez), helps her hone her raw talent and instill confidence for the first time. Now, she has to juggle choir rehearsals on top of her family and school duties. Coda The film revolves around Ruby playing this balancing act, and ultimately trying to share this new, music-loving side of herself with those who seem least able to appreciate it.

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There's also the Prime Video musical starring writer-director Rudy Mancuso opposite Camila Mendes, music. music The film is about a person with synesthesia who hears music in everyday sounds, to the point where it causes him distraction in his relationships, at school, and while running errands… In the film, Rudy, the character he plays, embarks on a journey to channel his sensory systems into a greater power rather than a hindrance. The film uses puppetry, animation, and music inspired by his Brazilian culture to create a unique and colorful identity. The choice to include multiple forms of media also emphasizes how vibrant and noisy the world is with synesthesia. both of them Flora and her son And Coda Now streaming on Apple TV+. music Streaming on Prime Video.