Keira Knightley gives Mark Ruffalo a chance to restart his career in the music industry in Begin Again.Keira Knightley gives Mark Ruffalo a chance to restart his career in the music industry in Begin Again.

Begin Again (2013)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 104 minutes
Directed by: John Carney
Starring: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld, James Corden, CeeLo Green, Mos Def, Catherine Keener
KRS Releasing Ltd

Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) works in the music industry. He had been responsible for signing some of the best musical acts like Trouble Gun (CeeLo Green) but he is now down on his luck. He has become fazed by the industry and ends up fired by Saul (Mos Def), one of his own executives. Dan is also divorced from Miriam (Catherine Keener) and barely knows his teenage daughter Violet (Hailee Steinfeld).

Then he meets Gretta (Keira Knightley) and believes he has found the ticket to return back to life. She plays one of her songs during a show by her friend Steve (James Corden) and while she is very raw, she already knows the ropes. She had once lived with her boyfriend Dave Kohl (Adam Levine from Maroon 5 here making his acting debut) who is a pop star. With fame, their story started becoming untenable.

Dan believes she has the makings of a singer and he tries to convince her he can guide her. Meanwhile he must deal with several personal issues.

Begin Again has a lot to say about emotional entanglements and even more about the state of commercial music today. It shows and questions how much music has become less about the individual and more about the streamlining of music into a package that is easily accessible to the mainstream audience. Individuality and inspiration seem to have been lost in the way.

The film’s basic strength lies in the fact that it is directed by John Carney who had directed 2006’s musical Once. It also benefits from an attractive cast with well-meaning intentions written all over them; however, even more than that, this film will have you tapping away as the music comes alive.

Ruffalo is very believable in his role. He delivers the haggard and dried-out look perfectly, something which he has honed over the years in several of his movies.

Knightley counterbalances him with a wide-eyed performance that seems to mirror Carney’s look at New York, the city into which he is venturing from his native Ireland.

The Big Apple, in fact, takes its own place in this movie, as it becomes the city of opportunity, even though the protagonists will have to adopt some unusual tactics to succeed. Carney here is not rewriting the genre; he is retreading it carefully and with enough flair, sincerity and earnestness.

The spotlight is on Ruffalo and Knightley, but better use could have been made of Catherine Keener and young Hailee Steinfield from True Grit. Meanwhile, Levine fits his role well and his acting career looks promising.

In the long run, the cast and New York meld together against a carefully chosen score.

For those willing to look at the world through unjaded eyes, Begin Again hits the right note, as it mixes naivety and sincerity.

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