In 'Flora and Son,' bad parenting and good music add up to an unabashedly feel-good movie

Flora drinks, smokes, has a foul mouth and doesn’t even pretend that she’s a good mother, or that she much wants to be.

She’s fabulous, in other words.

Particularly in the hands of Eve Hewson, who makes her maddening and lovely in a brilliant performance that's a blast to spend time with in “Flora and Son,” John Carney’s latest paean to the power of music.

Carney, whose previous films include “Once,” “Sing Street” and “Begin Again,” is unapologetic in his belief in that power. And it is infectious. You’ll hum your way through whatever narrative shortcomings “Flora and Son” may have — and it has a few.

This is unabashed feel-good filmmaking, so if you’re not looking for that, this is the wrong movie for you.

But maybe ask yourself: Why aren’t you?

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What is 'Flora and Son' about?

Flora is a single mother in Dublin who lives with her son, Max (Orén Kinlan). Which is to say they occupy the same apartment. Mostly they fight, over everything. When we meet her, she is dancing in a club with friends, before taking a guy home who bails the next morning when he learns Flora has a son.

She got pregnant as a teen. Max splits time with Flora and his father, Ian (Jack Reynor), a washed-up, would-be musician who spends his time smoking weed and playing video games and lamenting that c’mon, man, his old band once shared a bill with Snow Patrol!

Max is a burgeoning criminal and not a very good one, often being busted for shoplifting and other crimes. He’s told he has one more chance or he’ll wind up in juvenile detention.

Flora, on her way home from her job as a housekeeper, spots a beat-up guitar in a dumpster, has it repaired and gives it to Max as a birthday present and peace offering — a day late because she forgot, which cuts into the peace-offering aspect of the gift.

But Max is more into electronic music and shuns the guitar. Ever practical, Flora decides to learn how to play the instrument herself, to the derision of Ian, who after all considers himself a professional musician who understands the practice and sacrifice it takes.

She looks for help online, which is predictably hilarious, until landing on Jeff, a super-laid-back instructor in LA who only charges $20 a lesson, and happily turns out be be played by a delightful Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Despite a rocky first lesson (“wine had been taken,” Flora explains in her apology), Flora shows a real aptitude for the guitar — and for music criticism, as she cheerily dismantles one of Jeff’s original songs.

They get along great, with a clear connection that bridges the thousands of miles between them. Sappy? Eh, kind of, although Flora’s string of profanities helps leaven it a bit.

It turns out that Max is also something of a musician, working out songs on his laptop. Flora encourages him to send a song to the girl he has a crush on, who is more interested in the would-be rapper constantly making videos in the courtyard out front. Flora even helps Max with the song, and with shooting his own video.

There are some rough edges to these people’s lives — no one has any money to speak of, their home lives are obviously a slow-motion wreck and Max is a stolen pack of gum away from serious trouble.

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Joni Mitchell singing 'Both Sides Now'? Yes, please

Yet, it’s all too easy, which is not to say everything gets tied up with a storybook ending.

But Flora gets too good, too fast (Hewson is the daughter of Bono, singer for U2, so maybe that’s supposed to bleed through). Her connection with Jeff also arrives nearly fully formed and trouble free (except, again, for the miles between them, which Carney sometimes eliminates by having Jeff appear "in-person" with Flora while they’re Zooming). And the mother-son bonding over songwriting progresses too smoothly.

All this to say that I am aware of the film’s shortcomings, which are right there on display, and I didn’t care. None of that distracted me from Flora originally dismissing the video of Joni Mitchell singing “Both Sides Now” that Jeff emailed her to watch, doing dishes while it played, before its magnetic draw slowly brings her back to her laptop, in tears.

It takes shortcuts to do it, but ultimately “Flora and Son” will make you happy. And what’s wrong with that?

'Flora and Son' 4 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: John Carney.

Cast: Eve Hewson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Orén Kinlan.

Rating: R for language throughout, sexual references and brief drug use.

How to watch: In theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ Friday, Sept. 29.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Flora and Son' review: Eve Hewson hits all of the right notes