Song One

Song One is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland. The film follows Franny Ellis (Anne Hathaway), an anthropology student who returns to New York City after her estranged brother, Henry (Ben Rosenfield), a musician, entered a coma; to revive Henry and repair their relationship, Franny must convince Henry's favorite musician, James Forrester (Johnny Flynn), to play at his bedside.

The film premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 30th Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014,^[3] and opened in the United States on January 23, 2015, to mixed-to-negative critical reviews.

Plot

Franny Ellis (Anne Hathaway), an anthropology student, returns home from her PhD thesis work in Morocco to see her estranged brother, Henry (Ben Rosenfield), a musician who entered a coma after a car accident. To revive Henry and repair their relationship, Franny uses writings from Henry's journal to travel among New York City music clubs, where she takes notes on the phrases and music she observes with hopes that the similar sounds, once played in his room, will awaken Henry. Eventually, Franny meets Henry's favorite musician, James Forrester (Johnny Flynn), at a concert, and convinces him to play for Henry. Franny and James develop a romantic relationship, and Henry awakens.

Cast

• Anne Hathaway as Franny Ellis
• Mary Steenburgen as Karen
• Johnny Flynn as James Forrester
• Al Thompson as Andy
• Crystal Lonneberg as James' Friend
• Stefano Villabona as Rock Concert Goer
• Ben Rosenfield as Henry Ellis
• Steve Antonucci as Bartender
• Katrina Elizabeth Perkins as Hippie Woman
• Monna Sabouri as Bedouin Bride
• Walter DeForest as Handlebar Moustache Doorman
• J. Michael Kent as Tattooed Hipster
• Jessamine Kelley as Tess

Production

Filming of Song One began in June 2013 in New York City.^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, released by Lakeshore Records on January 13, 2015, contained original scores written by Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice of the indie rock duo Jenny & Johnny.^[5] Barker-Froyland met with the duo in Los Angeles and, after she listened to "Little Yellow Dress" before her plane ride to New York, decided that they would create the songs that Flynn would perform in-character.

During production, Song One producer Jonathan Demme instructed Lewis and Rice to record its music as Skip Spence recorded his 1969 psychedelic album Oar.^[6] The duo wrote eleven songs for the film, though only seven were used in its composition.^[7]

Track listing

Release

Box office

Song One premiered at the 30th Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014, in the U.S. Dramatic Competition.^[3] Later, the film opened in a limited release on January 23, 2015, with $20,200 in gross sales generated from twenty-seven theaters in the United States.^[2][8] As of 5 April 2015, the film has grossed $32,251.^[2]

Critical response

The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes sampled 41 reviews and judged 34% of them to be positive, with an average score score of 5.3 out of 10.^[9] The aggregator Metacritic gave the film 48 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.^[10]

References

External links

• Song One at the Internet Movie Database