Due to my indifference to Once,I was dubious about how fond I’d be of John Carney’s newest film Begin Again. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see some catchy tunes, some laughs and two great lead performances by Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo elevate a pretty typical script.
The film focuses on two characters who have both endured a string of bad luck recently. There’s Dan, a washed up music producer with a tough family life who’s in need of a new hit artist and there’s Gretta, a young woman who followed her boyfriend to the U.S. after his music blew up only to be left behind. She needs a bit of hope. They meet at a bar one night and Gretta’s song touches Dan in a way that only he understands. He goes to her, drunk, and tells her that together they could make something really great.
Boy meets girl, the two make music, chemistry happens, yada yada – we’ve seen it before, right?
Yes, but old stories can feel fresh when the right actors are leading the charge.
The films starts from Dan’s point of view and after his story is told we get Gretta’s up to that same point and then we get their introduction which begins the best portions of the film. The movie is at its best when it allows the naturalistic chemistry between Ruffalo and Knightley to shine and do the heavy lifting. Dan and Gretta decide that instead of renting a studio with the money they don’t have to make a demo, they’ll just record a whole album on the streets of New York City. Being authentic in the music industry is a rarity, but they’ll try their hardest.
The subplots with their families and/or loved ones are necessary but tedious compared to the meat of the story. Dan is trying in a half-hearted way to reconnect with a rebellious teenage daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) to varying levels of success, and Gretta is getting over her boyfriend’s betrayal. Gretta’s point of view would have worked better had Adam Levine been convincing. Levine isn’t terrible – he’s serviceable and has enough spirit to carry him through – but I couldn’t get over who I was watching the whole time, and the character needed to deliver emotions that he wasn’t able to provide. The Dan storyline comes out the other side looking stronger due to Keener and Steinfeld being accomplished actresses who seemed natural in their roles.
We also like their characters, or at the very least sympathize with them.
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In speaking of supporting roles, it’s also worth noting that James Cordon is a welcome wealth of fun as Gretta’s friend and confidant and nearly steals every scene he’s in.
But the real beating heart of the film is the surprisingly aggressive chemistry between Ruffalo and Knightley.
Movies are often at their peak of interest when they combine groups of talent you never would have imagined would have worked before, and out of all of the random, no-sense pairings to strike out with and have work, these two are a duo that would never have come to mind. There’s little sexual chemistry but the effortless rapport between the two would suggest a history of a working together, which isn’t the case. It simply works -likely better than Carney could’ve imagined during casting. They create the warmth between these two characters looking for companionship, an escape from loneliness and their own thoughts, and in the end they find a friend who will dance down the street in the wee hours of the morning as if they were the only two humans in the city.
This film doesn’t strain itself to reach new goals or new heights in filmmaking – it’s trying to entertain the audience with a sweet story, with loveable leads and some catchy tunes that you end up humming hours later. Perfect? No. But I enjoyed every minute of it.
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7.5/10
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