Who knew that Keira Knightley could sing?
Begin Again (Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener): Once meets When Harry Met Sally in this hard-to-dislike rom-com about a has-been record company executive (Mark Ruffalo) who meets a young, recently dumped, insecure songwriter (Keira Knightley). Together, they make beautiful music together.
That sums up a tuneful, heartwarming, well-acted New York City version of Once, the fabulous shot-on-a-shoestring budget musical from 2006 (and now an excellent Broadway play). That is not an accident since both films were written and directed by Irishman John Carney. Begin Again is a bigger budget version with a wonderful soundtrack sung by singer-performer-Voice judge Adam Levine and Ms. Knightley.
I wanted to write that this film is original but it’s not. Originality is sometimes over-rated. Begin Again is pleasantly predictable with characters you care about and a soundtrack you enjoy.
Ruffalo specializes in these flawed characters, and his Dan is highly flawed. He drinks too much, is a lousy father (his daughter is played by Hailee Steinfeld) and husband (his wife is played by the magnificent Catherine Keener), and has lost touch with the record industry. But Dan knows talent when he hears it. He meets Gretta, the British half of a songwriting team shortly after her break-up with Dave (Adam Levine). Her view of music is very pure; songwriting mirrors life, love, and passion even if it isn’t commercial. Dave loves her, but he wants more. He wants a hit. And when stardom comes, he embraces it; cheats on Gretta, and heads to L.A. and a concert tour.
Gretta stays in New York with an old friend and failed musician who drags her to a club where he is performing. Carney makes sure we see different angles of Dan and Gretta’s chance meeting, then moves the story along as the two produce an album of her music across many of New York City’s best venues. In Once, it was Dublin; in Begin Again, it’s the Big Apple from Times Square to rooftops to the subway.
If it is originality and cinematic surprise that you cherish, there are better choices for your time and money. But if you are looking for a gentle romantic comedy with lots of music and pretty people, Begin Again fits the bill.