Leaving Begin Again, I popped in my earbuds and listened to my playlists like I normally do. A few seconds later, my eyes started welling up inexplicably, with joy consuming my heart. Writer/Director John Carney recaptures the magic of music and movies (he created Once) with this little charmer starring Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley. Also, I learned Adam Levine looks terrible in a beard.
We see the star-crossed pairing that takes place at an open mic night. Dan (Ruffalo) is a studio exec in the middle of a nervous breakdown, having just been fired by his former partner (Mos Def) and separated from his wife (Catherine Keener) and daughter Violet (Hailee Steinfeld). Greta (Knightley) was dating her writing partner Dave (Adam Levine) until Dave hits it big, and lets his success get to his head. Dan, upon hearing Greta, wants to record an outdoor album with her, both using each other to pick themselves up and remind themselves what they love about music in the first place.
John Carney is the go-to director for showing the joy of music creation. What makes him so special is that he never calls out a special moment: you just know it when you see it. Because music is such an expressive medium, when the movie hits a high, it sweeps you up into its euphoria. What is amazing about Begin Again is the number of ways these scenes can develop. Whether traversing magical New York City, in a nightclub, or at a concert, the power of a song can hit you if the mood is right, and director Carney sets up these moments better than most directors in the business.
Carney is also great at working music within the context of the real world, creating modern day musicals. Dan and Greta in any fantasy musical would clearly end up together, but their past lives and relationships drive the story more than their pairing. The movie teases at this successfully and correctly pulls away at the last minute. Begin Again, like its title, is about picking yourself up and deciding what to do with your life. While the lives of Dan and Greta are not very complex, they are emotionally powerful and dealt with in an adult manner. Sure Dave acts very impulsively, but the story smartly makes him grow up a little midway through and realize what he lost, making Greta’s decision more complicated than originally thought. Dan’s story also has a nice little spin in the middle, rethinking what we thought of the guy and framing his actions in a much more enlightened light.
Keira Knightley continues to be a very underrated actress with a host of talents. Knightley had never sung before; however, her voice is sweet and authentic, giving a nice grittiness to the proceedings. She also nails her big emotional moments and has some nice laughs with James Corben (her musician friend). Mark Ruffalo has been playing a frazzled charmer for a while now, and easily nails his character. Ruffalo frames his early manic behavior as being anchored by passion, which manifests itself as the outdoor album comes together. Hailee Steinfeld and Catherine Keener aren’t given much to do, but they provide enough support to Ruffalo to make his payoffs worth it. Adam Levine can sell a song very well on stage, but is surprisingly good as a musician over his head in stardom. Cee Lo Green also does some good stuff with his little cameo.
It takes some daring to create a similar movie to the masterpiece you already created in the same genre. John Carney took a big risk making Begin Again, but audiences are all the better for it. This movie provides enough magic and goosebumps to hopefully make audiences see Once, John Carney’s gold standard for musicals. Also, if he chooses to sequel Begin Again, I vote Keira Knightley and Taylor Swift dropping the hammer at Lollapalooza.