"Fair play to those who dare to dream ..."
The Swell Season has played a large role in my personal musical journey in recent years, from their appearance in the mind-bogglingly amazing movie “Once” to their Scooties-worthy album to appearances at the NorthCarolina Museum of Art and Meymandi Music Hall here in Raleigh, and even to their cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Two-Headed Boy.” So when the documentary “Swell Season” was released, it was obviously must-see TV for me.
Using a slow, laconic pace and a melancholy feel, which fit
quite nicely with the stark black-and-white footage, “Swell Season” documented
the burgeoning love affair between hyper-talented musicians Glen Hansard and
Marketa Irglova. The movie opened with the intimacy of Marketa giving Glen a
haircut, before launching into the following of the tour and the duo’s budding
relationship.
While Glen is a veteran of the road, Marketa is so young and
painfully shy, to the point where she refuses to even take pictures with fans. As
the film progresses, it becomes obvious that they are experiencing different
stages of life (after all, he’s 18 years older). Both Glen and Marketa quickly
become homesick and a bit depressed, and it becomes clear that Glen can’t prop
them both up when he’s also dealing with his own issues.
What quickly becomes apparent as well is that Glen is
afflicted with the self-doubt that comes with someone who is finally NOT the underdog. It is easy to tell how
much this unexpected fame weighed on him, as he becomes increasingly anxious. At
heart, he’ll always be a busker, and it appears he’ll never quite get used to
the fame. Where he once battled to gain attention, now he struggles to handle
everything that comes along with finally having “made” it—proving that the
struggle only changes ... it’s never really over. Glen is forced to face the
questions that come about when you chase fame forever: What happens when you
finally get it? How do you handle it?
What doesn’t help is Marketa’s admonitions for Glen to relax
and stop fighting it. Marketa thinks Glen is taking himself too seriously, and
the lingering shots and silences that accompany this opinion display the amount
of damage—potentially irreparable—this statement this could do to their
relationship.
Musically, Marketa’s sensitive playing and delicate voice
take off Glen’s hard edge. But while he’s the life of the party, she’s
introverted. Both struggle immensely in wearing the crown of fame, an uneasy
and confusing fit for both of their personalities. As a result, they are only able
to balance each other out musically—not emotionally.
The behind-the-scenes insight into songwriting is where the
film truly shines, and the film gets profound when Glen explores his father’s
dark, disturbed past. The breakup songs they sing to each other are prophetic,
becoming true as the movie progresses, and we finally realize that it is easier
for them to communicate through their music.
The film draws to a close with some post-breakup, late-tour
footage, showing Glen playing an acoustic solo in the middle of Radio City
Music Hall, with Marketa leaning in from the edge of the stage. I felt the shot
of her listening intently, a faint smile lingering on her lips, would have been
the ideal fade-to-black moment, but the directors chose to go in a different
direction.
What “Swell Season” is, in the end, is not a concert movie
or a band documentary, but a love story lived out on screen. Though we know
what’s going to happen, it is still sad and beautiful, and we still applaud how
brave these two are and were to bare their souls (and, unexpectedly, at one
point their bodies) so transparently in this manner. Glen and Marketa were
unable to overcome their disparities in age and life experiences, nor their personality
gaps, but the musical connection and moment in time that they created together will
always stand ... though the love that encircled it may have to wait for another
life.
