Greetings,
Have you ever seen a trailer for a movie that makes you really excited to see it? That's how I felt about a movie called Begin Again. Saw the trailer and, despite an obvious and glaring flaw in my opinion, which we'll get into later, I was still very psyched to see the film. Of course, I had to wait for DVD because it wasn't showing in my area. So, was it worth the wait? Well, let's see.
Okay, the plot. The basic story of Begin Again is about two people. One of them is a guy named Dan Mulligan. He's this washed up record executive, whose life is pretty much falling apart. His family is breaking up and he loses his job, which leads him to do some serious drinking. The other person is a girl named Greta James. She is a young singer-songwriter, who isn't exactly confident about her talent but she thrives on being an authentic artist. One night, in a bar, whilst he is drunk, Dan sees Greta performing and immediately wants to record an album with her. It's actually kind of a cool sequence. She's up on stage with just a guitar, but he starts to hear more instruments. We even see the instruments behind her come to life and start playing themselves. Yeah, did I mention he was drunk? Anyway, Greta is hesitant and suspicious, and she's dealing with own crap having been dumped by her cheating boyfriend, Dave, who has gone on to be a successful musician. Eventually, they come together to try and make music in some unusual but effective ways. All the while, we see the goings on in their personal lives and what path they will choose to follow.
Alright, THAT was the plot BASICALLY. Now I must warn you that the structure is not nearly as simple. I didn't know this when I first watched it, but this movie kind of jumps back and forth in time without really telling the audience blatantly. You just have to figure it out for yourselves. With my first viewing, I didn't even notice this. With my second viewing, I started to get confused. I was thinking "Wait, are they together or not?" or "Is the boyfriend famous yet or not?" or "What the heck is going on?" Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but I was wondering about things. Then, I found out about the jumping around, and I felt better. It's actually not that confusing, once you realize what's going on, so you're welcome.
I guess it's time to talk about the cast. I will be very nice, but not the entire time. The good news is that the ladies in this are fantastic. Greta is played by Keira Knightley, and I have to say, whilst I usually enjoy her in movies, this might be my favorite performance of hers. See, honey, you can totes act in present day stuff! We also got Catherine Keener and Hailee Steinfeld as Dan's wife, Miriam, and daughter, Violet, respectively. Good times. Of course, we've come to expect greatness from Catherine Keener, but it's nice to see Hailee Steinfeld still going strong after her epic turn in True Grit.
And now for the boys. James Corden played Steve, Greta's best friend. I don't know much about this guy, but he certainly did well in this role as the lovable and supportive sidekick of sorts. I mean, it's usually a woman playing the...not-so-skinny best friend, right? Another thing is that they cast a lot of musicians in this to act. CeeLo Green plays a rapper named Troublegum (totally his real name!) who was discovered by Dan, and Mos Def plays, Saul, Dan's business partner. They both did well, but the big surprise was Adam Levine as Dave. I'm not exactly what you would call a fan of Adam Levine or his music, but, holy smokes, he was really good in this. I was worried it might seem like he was trying too hard to keep up with hi co-stars. That didn't happen, thankfully. He came off as a natural with some real potential. Frankly, if he decided to do some more movies, I wouldn't object.
And now for the bad news. I'm not sure if a film can be totally ruined if it has an actor in it that you do not like, but it can certainly knock a few points off. For example, I would have given this movie something of an 8.7 rating. But thanks to one major defect, it's a 6.3 at best. And that defect is Mark Ruffalo. Look, I'm sorry if you like him, but I am just SO not a fan of his. I've never really gotten him as an actor. Then, I heard some things he said in the real world and, whilst I try not to let that affect how I feel about someone's work, I just have to keep him at arm's length. So, yeah, to me, and this is just my opinion, it would have been a much better movie had they cast someone else. Edward Norton, perhaps. Wouldn't that have been ironic?
Anyway, let's move on to the music. It was actually pretty good. Of course, we got to hear Adam Levine sing, since he was playing a singer, but we also got to hear Keira Knightley sing. Much like how I was surprised by Adam's acting, I was just as surprised by Keira's singing. She was great. Okay, she's not Celine or Mariah as far as range goes, but I didn't expect that. And she flat out admits that she's not a singer. But she has this nice, sweet voice and it fit the music perfectly. The music, by the way, was mostly written by Gregg Alexander, who people remember for his 90's hit "You Only Get What You Give", as well as, Danielle Brisebois, former child actress and clearly, amazing adult musician. These two have been working together for awhile and have not lost their touch over the years. The music was great and also appropriate. It just fit so well with the story. Not surprising, considering who the director is.
The director is John Carney, the guy who gave us the charming beyond reason movie Once back in 2008. Admittedly, I do like Once better than this, but Begin Again is kind of like that movie with more money, bigger names and slightly less of that charm. Not to say it has none, but there was something so sweet and innocent about those non-actors trying to act while clearly appearing more comfortable when allowed to do the music thing. Begin Again is far more polished. They've got four Oscar nominees, for crying out loud, so there can only be so much simplicity. Still, you can feel what John Carney wants you to feel through his work.
So, in closing, I am actually going to recommend this movie. Yes, I have my issues with it, but the good things about it outweigh the bad ones. I especially recommend this if you are a music lover or someone who writes music or both. I am both and I enjoyed this.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
