Mistaking slight for subtle, Barker-Froyland fails to hit the emotional notes needed to make this icky fling sing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 24, 2022

One can languish in the strumming of melancholy inspiring folk music only for so long before this feels like a crutch that takes the place of material lacking in the narrative.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jul 18, 2019

Newcomer Johnny Flynn is the shining star of this rather mesmerising music movie that hits the right notes.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 20, 2017

Song One seems unabashedly fond of romantic rooftop wee-hours hangouts in front of Manhattan skyline bokeh backdrops. It's all tenderness and no cynicism in this little world.

| Aug 24, 2017

[Anne] Hathaway emotes prettily, but this slight picture evaporates on contact.

| Aug 21, 2017

t's the scenes without music that feel false, and Song One has far too many of them.

| Original Score: D+ | Jun 21, 2016

There's something just too precious about it all.

| Dec 21, 2015

If you're a Hathaway fan, this will be worth your time; she's in every scene, and builds a convincingly tense relationship with screen mom Mary Steenburgen. But if you're looking for the next Once, well, this isn't it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 18, 2015

Writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland doesn't bother to disguise Song One as something it's not.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 27, 2015

"Song One" is an enjoyable watch, but an even better listen, its songs bringing a thoughtful melodic glow to modestly endearing material.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 24, 2015

There are only so many scenes of Hathaway tearing up while either a) staring at her brother or b) watching James strum his guitar that one can take.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 3, 2015

There's a sweet melody without much accompaniment in this slight romance.

| Jan 30, 2015

Despite the delicate shadings Hathaway brings to the role, Song One moves inexorably from wan to wearying.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 29, 2015

It doesn't always add up to much more than a smile and a tear, but the music and the acting are just good enough to make this "Song" sing.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 24, 2015

Kate Barker-Froyland's musical melodrama isn't particularly deep in the dramatic department, but hits a few key notes when it comes to its music.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 24, 2015

There are no real surprises here, just lives played out quietly and succinctly under the seductive spell of music.

| Jan 23, 2015

Anne Hathaway downshifts into sullen-indie-melancholy mode.

| Original Score: C+ | Jan 23, 2015

Angsty musical romance has great songs, uneven plot.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 23, 2015

This is about people bonding over tragedy, the demanding grind of the music industry, and the soothing effect of a good, earnest melody; only good at one of these.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 23, 2015

In her feature debut, writer/director Kate Barker-Froyland tends to tiptoe away from the dramatic high notes that audiences often crave and comes up a stanza or two short from a fulfilling resolution.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 23, 2015