‘Power Ballad’ is Another Solid John Carney Picture
John Carney can’t necessarily be described as “one-trick pony,” even if he makes virtually the same film over and over again. The Irish filmmaker has carved a niche in music-driven dramedies ever since 2007’s Once. That niche became mainstream following his best film, Sing Street, which is widely regarded as one of 2016’s best. If you think he’s run out of steam after the middling Flora & Son, think again, because Power Ballad is here to remind us all that Carney’s place within music-themed cinema is of utmost importance.
The plot of Power Ballad
Funnily enough, Carney and co-writer Peter McDonald (who also stars in the film) take a relatively simple premise we’ve all seen before in unexpected places. It makes the movie feel refreshing, even if the two stumble along the way in drawing a conclusion that feels worthy for both protagonists’ paths.
Singers Rick Power (Paul Rudd) and Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) are vying for success, though on different degrees. Power was a once-promising singer/songwriter who put his career on hold after marrying the love of his life (Marcella Plunket) and having a daughter (Beth Fallon).
Danny was a member of a boy band that sadly fell apart, and his solo career hasn’t hit the same levels of adulation as his time in the spotlight with, probably, the other Jonas Brothers (if Nick’s performance is somewhat metatextual). The two meet at a wedding, one where Rick and his cover band perform a setlist of various ‘80s to ‘90s tunes. The groom invites Danny to perform a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” with the cover band, leading to one drawn-out jamming session that Rick is likely never to forget.
Six months later, Rick hears a song at a mall that feels eerily similar to the one he shared with Danny during their jam session. Upon close listening, he realizes that it’s the same song. Rick believes he will receive some form of compensation, but Danny has taken all the credit and even enlisted his agent, Mac (Jack Reynor), to threaten legal action against Rick should he contact them again.
You might think you have a clue where the film is heading based on this plot summary alone, but think again! Carney and McDonald’s screenplay begins in simple territories, spending much time with Rick and Danny as they jam out before their eventual butting of heads to showcase that they want to attain the same goals. Of course, Danny has experienced success before, while Rick has never even had the chance to taste it, but their objectives seem aligned on that fateful evening.
Perhaps Power Ballad’s first half runs a bit too long, but it’s integral in making us understand what drives both protagonists, how one failed, and how the other succeeded. However, a rift begins to form when Danny fundamentally misunderstands the song at the heart of Power Ballad’s debacle. What looks to be a simple love ballad dedicated to Rick’s wife (whom Danny, of course, addresses it to his then-girlfriend Marcia, played by Havana Rose Liu) actually has a significance that the singer who appropriates the song fails to assess.
This is where Power Ballad begins to open up in unexpected ways and capture a feeling that few music-driven pictures have managed to convey, at least not through Carney’s humanist lens. As much as his films have become more commercial with appearances from the likes of Adam Levine and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the Irish director has never forgotten his roots depicting working-class, struggling artists longing for a chance at redemption through their art. The emotional core of Power Ballad’s story lies in the push-pull between two musicians from diametrically opposed class systems.
One works paycheck-to-paycheck (or gig-to-gig), while the other already has a massive mansion at the top of the Hollywood Hills, likely built on residuals from the height of his musical career. Rick eventually goes to Danny’s house to confront him once and for all. He states to the singer that he always wondered what the Los Angeles lights looked like atop the hills, but they don’t look as impressive as he’d envisioned.
It’s a rich text that surprisingly doesn’t execute what you expect from a film of this ilk. Especially one focusing on an artist (or any figure) appropriating the work of others as their own and on whom the struggling protagonist will enact revenge.
Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas are excellent in their roles
Of course, there is a bit of comedic fun in seeing Rick and his best friend Sandy (Peter McDonald) go to L.A. in the hopes of vengeance against Danny. But the protagonist immediately realizes such a quest is futile and prefers to focus on things that matter the most to him and his family. This is what sets Power Ballad apart from the bevy of films that attempt to treat the same subjects, because it humanizes the characters first and foremost before putting them in comical situations. In that regard, both Rudd and Jonas are excellent artists who share a common goal but approach it with different motivations.
Jonas follows Finneas O’Connell in the second season of Beef in a self-referential portrayal of a “douchier” self than who he is in real life, but one that envisions the popular singer as someone with deep struggles behind the scenes. He doesn’t let anyone, not even his girlfriend, see these vulnerabilities. This puts him in a relatively precarious position when, in a moment of total weakness, Rick shows up at his doorstep and demands the truth: did he take the song from him? We already know the answer, which is past the point. What’s important here is his willingness to admit that, yes, the song isn’t his.
It’s a shame Carney and McDonald undo most of the dramatic tension after teasing the audience that they won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing how the story wraps up by… immediately showing how it ends after a sharp cut to black. Such a cop-out shouldn’t be allowed, especially considering that all of Carney’s prior works don’t conclude this way.
It’s the biggest drawback, alongside flimsy aesthetics, that Power Ballad has, although it doesn’t much impede the overall picture. The film is far more engaging than his last foray into the world of struggling humans escaping the harsh conditions of reality by their own musical creations.
Final thoughts on Power Ballad
So, no, John Carney isn’t a “one-trick pony,” even if he’s been working in the same sub-genre of films for almost a decade longer than that. He’s carved his own path as a filmmaker who has found a niche and enjoys working within its parameters while always offering something different for the viewer, even if it’s not as refined (or memorable) as his crowning achievement, Sing Street.
Let’s be honest, though: do all of Carney’s movies need to be as good as this one if they’re all enjoyable? I’ll let you answer this question on your own…
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