Movies

Four Sundance flicks top picks for next indie musical

Eight years after the Academy Award-winning “Once,” Sundance is still looking for the next great indie musical. This year, at least four offerings try to recapture that sad, strummy low-budget beauty. Here are the contenders:

Song One

Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn star in “One Song.”Kate Barker-Froyland

The story: Anne Hathaway plays a doctoral student who flies back to New York City from Morocco when her brother — who plays songs in subway tunnels and idolizes James (Johnny Flynn), a semi-famous folk singer — steps in front of traffic with his headphones on and is hit by a car, leaving him in a coma from which he may never recover. Naturally, Hathaway meets the folk singer her brother adored and hooks up with him. She brings the singer and various other hipster artifacts (like a gramophone) into her brother’s hospital room to try to make him snap out of his coma.

What’s great about it: Wrenching emo songs by Flynn. A fragile, heartfelt quality.

What’s not-so-great: The movie is mopey, slow-paced and contrived.

God Help the Girl

Hannah Murray, Olly Alexander and Emily Browning star in “God Help the Girl.”Neil Davidson

The story: Written and directed by Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch, the Glasgow-set movie centers on Eve (Australian Emily Browning of “Sucker Punch”), a depressed anorexic girl who slips out of her mental hospital and meets a nerdy, vaguely Harry Potter-ish guitar player (Olly Alexander) who instantly falls in love with her and forms a band with her and his posh, cheerful music student (Hannah Murray), though Eve only has eyes for a sexy Swiss rocker (Pierre Boulanger).

What’s great about it: A couple of dozen wistful, dreamy, achingly sweet Belle and Sebastian-type songs, and Browning is captivating in a variety of fabulous outfits as she keeps busting out musical numbers that chart her mood swings.

What’s not-so-great: There isn’t a whole lot of plot, and the love triangle never really convinces because the sexy, mysterious Eve seems to look at James as more of a cute little brother than a romantic possibility.

Frank

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson star in “Frank.”Leonard Abrahamson

The story: An eager but inexperienced young musician (Domhnall Gleeson) in England witnesses an arty rock band’s keyboard player going crazy on a beach and is instantly hired to replace him at the band’s gig later that night, where we meet the charismatic, strange frontman: Frank (Michael Fassbender), who wears a huge cardboard head of a cartoon character at all times.

What’s great about it: In the early going, it’s very funny. The movie has the frisky youthfulness of “The Commitments” as the band members (including Maggie Gyllenhaal) decamp to Scotland to record their masterpiece and begin to make a name for themselves on YouTube.

What’s not-so-great: The film (loosely based on a true story — screenwriter Jon Ronson was once in a band with a rock singer who wore a giant fake head) gets depressing in a third act that’s mainly about mental illness instead of music.

Rudderless

Anton Yelchin (left) and Billy Crudup star in “Rudderless.”Unified Pictures

The story: Directed by “Fargo” star William H. Macy, the film is about a grieving father (Billy Crudup) who, after his son dies in a school shooting, discovers the boy’s musical gifts and begins recording his songs with the aid of another youngster (Anton Yelchin).

What’s great about it: a surprisingly feel-good quality, especially in the early going, and a wide range of songs by SolidState, according to Slashfilm.com.

What’s not-so-great: Like “Frank,” it gets a little too dark as it goes on.