May 01, 2018

Making The Grade


Sometimes when I go to the cinema I want to see explosions and people getting shot in the head while the good guy fires off witty one liners. Other times I want to be scared out of my wits. And often I go cos I just need a good laugh. What I rarely see these days is a film that makes you feel warm after watching it. Making The Grade made me feel like that today and it was just lovely.

It's an Irish documentary about learning the piano, from the point of view of both the teachers and the pupils and it's about the rapport and relationships that are built between those pupils and teachers. That might sound boring to some but it's anything but. From the young girl being taught Crockett's theme from Miami Vice by her father to the 40 something metal fan taking up the piano in a bid to get out of a musical slump, it's all about the joy of teaching and learning and the power of music and how important it is in life. We start with a very young boy beginning at grade 1 and meet a great cross section of Irish society as we move our way all the way to grade eight.

When you think of piano playing you instantly think of rich people tickling the ivories in stuffy rooms but it's far from that. It's all very inclusive, taking in people from all walks of life and from all over Ireland. From a young prodigy in Northern Ireland who's so good she makes her teacher cry to an older woman who knows she's not the best but who thoroughly enjoys the entire process anyway. The Lithuanian woman who splits her time between teaching and kickboxing to the Kylemore Abbey nun who sings the praises of the Toyota Yaris. The film also reminds us what a rich mixture of accents with have on our little Isle and we hear them all here. Those unmistakable Cork, Derry and Waterford twangs stand out and we get the odd Nigerian or Eastern European accent added in. It makes for a great hotchpotch. It's not a comedy either by any means but there's a lot of humour here. Pupils thinking they are fooling their teachers. A healthy bit of sibling rivalry. The sheer amount of dogs owned by Irish families and in one very funny moment, a brutally honest critique by a teacher who doesn't hold back on saying what she means.



Like life it's full of little triumphs and moments of sadness. A mother who went back to piano after decades away during a family crisis is especially affecting. "I seldom play because I only play when I'm happy." A line that's devastating in it's simplicity when you think about it but you can see that returning to music is therapeutic for her. Or the young woman with cerebral palsy who will not let her condition take over her life. The struggles people face every day that we don't hear about. It's all quite moving and it blends sadness with happiness in that way only Irish films seem capable of.

There's no big reasons here or agendas being pushed. It's just a selection of snapshots of life with all 8 grades of piano learning being the common theme linking them. It doesn't need to be anything else. There's no fake drama generated and the most stressful parts of the learning process take place behind closed doors. It's nice and simple and lovely. Director Ken Wardrop has made something that everyone will enjoy, no matter what their age is or what their musical preferences are. It shows that learning is a life long process and that's something that can be universally appreciated.

Supremely watchable stuff that will have you floating out of the cinema on a happy little cloud.


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