Sypnosis
The documentary follows the up-and-coming singer-songwriter, Ryan McMullan, as he prepares for the release of his debut album.
Review
The subject of Brendan J. Byrne’s latest documentary marks somewhat of a change in subject matter for a filmmaker whose previous work includes Bobby Sands: 66 Days and One Million American Dreams, along with producer credits on political documentaries like Gaza and No Stone Unturned, because on this project he shifts his camera lens onto up-and-coming Northern Irish musical artist Ryan McMullan.
Centred around a 4-day recording session in County Donegal that took place in December 2019, the film attempts to showcase the final preparations for the release of McMullan’s debut album as Ryan and his team (Artist/mentor Foy Vance and manager/drummer Paul ‘Hammy’ Hamilton) put the finishing touches to the album.
These sessions form the creative spine of the documentary, allowing the director to interview Ryan and his team in between their musical performances and get them to reflect on his burgeoning career and showcase just how far the Portaferry man has come in a relatively short space of time.
McMullan’s star is undoubtedly on the rise; from playing small intimate gigs in Northern Ireland to supporting both Snow Patrol and Ed Sheeran on tour, his career has the wind in its sails and seems to be heading in one direction, but thankfully Byrne’s documentary never descends into a glorified puff piece about McMullan to accompany the release of his album.
Nor does he allow himself to become starry-eyed when more established musical artists like Ed Sheeran or Gary Lightbody appear on the screen. The focus remains firmly on McMullan and his raw talent throughout the documentary as the filmmaker attempts to capture the magic of the songwriting process with his camera.
All too often these documentaries feature musical artists who’ve gone on and made it and are now allowed the luxury of being able to back at the release of an important album or concert that helped take their careers to the next level, but that’s not the case here!
Here we’re watching as that rise plays out right in front of the camera, McMullan and his team might have all the confidence in the world, but there are no guarantees in the music industry, so there’s still a certain sense of jeopardy and risk about proceedings.
Considering that the scenes in Donegal were filmed in late 2019, we as viewers are all too aware of what lies in wait for McMullan in the early parts of 2020 with the onset of the Covid pandemic, a global event that brought the whole world to a global standstill.
The musical industry, particularly the live performance sector is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and enforced social distancing regulations, and now nearly two years on from those recording sessions in Donegal the live sector is only really starting to really get going once again.
But rather than leave things on a downbeat note for viewers, the documentary still puts a positive spin on proceedings and there’s a real sense by the time the closing credits begin to roll that the Covid pandemic hasn’t derailed McMullan’s continued rise to stardom, but merely postponed the inevitable!
