Written and Directed by John Carney
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
John Carney, you have miraculously done it again!
In a perfect movie going world, "Begin Again," the new film from Writer/Director John Carney, who gave us the critically acclaimed, award winning and box office smash independent musical drama "Once" (2007), would be sitting proudly at the very tip-top of the box office. However, we unfortunately live in a "Transformers" world,a world where banging, booming, and ultimately soulless product has no room for anything approaching artistry or even any sense of honesty...and it is currently the highest grossing film of 2014. Ugh! That being said, there is no reason that "Begin Again" is doomed to fall through the cracks, especially as I feel that strong word of mouth will assist this lovely, charming, and wholly untainted musical comedy/drama/romance story greatly.
Several times this year, I have seen strong to absolutely terrific films that I feared would fall by the wayside, most notably Director Ritesh Batra's excellent culinary romantic drama "The Lunchbox" and Director Jon Favreau's mouth watering and vibrantly entertaining "Chef." But both have connected most affectionately with audiences and I strongly feel that "Begin Again" fits very comfortably alongside those features. As of this time, I am here to give "Begin Again" the push it needs to get you to the theater and see it for yourselves as I think that you will find yourselves not only enormously entertained, emotionally disarmed but also deeply affected by its quiet and unassuming poignancy.
"Begin Again" stars a fast talking, terrifically shaggy Mark Ruffalo as Dan Mulligan, a once Grammy award winning producer/record label co-owner but now recently fired record label executive who is also nursing the emotional wounds from his estrangement from his wife Miriam (Catherine Keener) and his teenage daughter and budding guitarist Violet (Hailee Steinfeld). Keira Knightley co-stars as Gretta, a songwriter who has recently broken up with her writing partner and rapidly rising star Dave Kohl (Adam Levine).
Both crestfallen individuals meet inside of a New York East Village bar as Gretta nervously and reluctantly performs one of her compositions to an indifferent audience, however, the depressed and drunk Dan instantly connects with the music, inspiring him to make the impossible pitch of representing Gretta and serving as her music producer. Refusing to relinquish any sense of her artistic integrity, Gretta and Dan soon arrive upon the idea of possibly recording an album in and around New York city, guerrilla style, live, with no overdubs, and whatever is captured on tape is captured, therefore always becoming a part of the musical experience.
Essentially, that is the structural element of "Begin Again," a scarcity of plot that leaves ample space for the thematic qualities of the intense power of creativity and art, the joys of communication and community, as well as the sweet enrapturing spell of personal redemption to fully envelop the characters, the situations, the terrific songs and for all of us within the audience. It is the perfect companion piece to Carney's "Once," a film that succeeded so wondrously almost by sheer force of will and through the undeniably purity of its intentions.
If you think back to that particular film, "Once" was a movie that possessed quite possibly the most bare boned plot and characterization that I can think of in fairly recent memory. That film's main characters didn't even have names as they were known only as "Guy" and Girl." And yet, that film soared so beautifully and confidently as the entire proceedings were so open hearted, so unfiltered, and without even one iota of irony and cynicism that "Once" was tremendously irresistible. Even with more detailed and complex stories and back stories for the characters (as well as giving them names this time around), "Begin Again" operates on that exact same conceptual and emotional playing field as Carney refuses to clutter his movie with anything superfluous and to just allow the characters, their behaviors, their struggles, wishes, hopes, fears and interpersonal connections and yes, their music, to speak for themselves without hyperbole, and prefabricated drama.
Now, there has been quite a fair amount of criticism that I have seen aimed towards this film for depicting a New York city that is remarkably accommodating for Dan and Gretta's musical pursuits, that what we are seeing is a fantasy of New York and not a reality of New York. To that, I say emphatically that those criticism say more about those writers than about the film itself, especially for a film of this nature, one that proudly and unapologetically wears its hugely open heat on its sleeve and like "Once" has the purest of intentions. You can easily see and most importantly, feel that John Carney means every single frame of his movie and to that, his artistic integrity should be commended and celebrated. What John Carney has devised is a story, characters and film that always feels emotionally true and he has served his project well by aligning himself with a team of actors and musical collaborators who all elicit an equally pure sense of commitment to making this film sing as best as it is able.
I have long felt that Mark Ruffalo is one of our most charismatic and engaging actors and with "Begin Again," he continues his streak as simply being magnetic to watch. With a physical appearance that strongly suggests Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, Ruffalo carries a wheeling dealing zip and vigor as the former record exec Dan Mulligan as we can see exactly how he could have been a figure to amass a certain level of fame and fortune as well as how he could have ended up in a position where he had not signed even one artist in seven years. While brash, arrogant, occasionally crude and vulgar, Ruffalo always presents us with the necessary and significant layers that make Dan a character that is compelling to follow. We can easily appreciate his ferocious creativity and inventiveness, and Ruffalo never allows himself or the audience to lose sight of his specific pathos. For Dan Mulligan, "Begin Again" represents the period of his life when he is literally and figuratively crawling upwards from the bottom and Mark Ruffalo ensures that we remain riveted to his each and every step upwards, especially as it has taken only hearing a song to fully inspire his ascent.
Keira Knightley is absolutely beguiling! Aside from her work in Writer/Director Lorene Scafaria's undervalued, underseen yet stirring and fearless apocalyptic romantic comedy "Seeking A friend For The End Of The World" (2012), I do not think that I have ever seen Knightley in such a naturalistic performance. Like Robert Downey Jr. often achieves, Knightley essentially floats through this film with seemingly effortless ease, making all of her dialogue sound as if those are the words she just happened to speak extemporaneously each day that she arrived on the set. Her warmth is richly enveloping, just as her humor and sparkling charm.
Yet, Gretta is no smiling moppet with a guitar. For the character of Gretta, we also find her at a personal crossroads but also a figure with an unshakable integrity when it comes to her art, ho wit should be recorded, presented and performed. She is nobody's fool although her heart may mislead her from time to time, a quality which makes her so recognizably human as the parameters we may impose upon our work, hobbies or art may be more elusive when dealing in inter-personal relationships, the very situations that are impossible to control. Yet, most importantly of all, Keira Knightley and Carney ensure that Gretta is never a character whose outcome, and overall identity, is defined by who she is romantically attached to, truly refreshing for a quality that still sadly plagues the arc of female characters in the movies.
John Carney's "Begin Again" illustrates the process in which two souls not only connect but also reach towards each other inspire each other, build trust together and therefore, heal themselves as individuals and with Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley at the helm, you will be fully swayed by their infectious and golden chemistry. They are impressively supported by the entirety of the film's cast, especially Yaslin Bey (the former Mos Def) as Dan's former business partner and even moreso, Adam Levine, who is a most clever casting choice as it seems as if he is either making a parody of his own pop star persona as leader of Maroon 5 and judge on television's "The Voice" or perhaps, this role is a way of keeping himself artistically in check.
And then, there is the music of the film, which indeed serves as a crucial character within "Begin Again," just as with "Once." Now as much as I thoroughly enjoyed "Once," I would indeed give this new film the edge musically as the folk songs of "Once" did tend to have a certain sonic sameness. With "Begin Again" by contrast, all of the songs were written or co-written by Gregg Alexander, who once led the short lived band New Radicals and did compose the nearly perfect 1998 power pop song "You Get What You Give." It must also be noted that Keira Knightley performs all of her own singing in the film, giving "Begin Again" an even greater authenticity. But aside from the folk/power pop sonics of the music, which are all terrifically performed and sung, the magic lies within how John Carney represents the characters', and therefore our, relationship with music.
Take the sequence early in the film when Dan first hears Gretta shyly singing her song. As he looks at her, responding to her voice, the lyrics and the melody, he begins to imagine a full band arrangement, which is visualized by the drums, electric guitars, cellos and bass guitars all invisibly playing themselves around Gretta on stage.
Then, there is another wonderful sequence that features Dan and Gretta simply strolling around New York city at night, sharing headphones and an MP3 player shuffling through songs, all the while gathering a connection between the music, the environment around them as well as with each other. And there are all of the musical performances/recording session sequences themselves, which all present the connection that occurs when musicians collaborate to make a perfect song and the effect is often joyous. I especially loved the absolutely glowing sequence in which Dan's daughter Violet joins in on electric guitar while Dan plays bass, a moment that begins to re-establish and revitalize their Father/daughter bond.
John Carney's "Begin Again" is a lovely, wistful, hopeful and sensitively presented film. It is an experience that not only presents human beings with intelligence, heart and truth, it is also a film with no villains as all of the characters are just trying to life their lives in the way they see fit. While some may exhibit bad behavior or make choices that inflict pain upon another, no one is malicious or out intending to cause harm, which also makes "Begin Again" work very well as a film about choices, consequences and how we live with ourselves and each other. It is a film that works as a celebration to music, authenticity, integrity, compassion, and a renewal of spirit and a purity of soul. And while it may be a bit too much of "pie in the sky" romanticism for some, I really believe that "Begin Again" does indeed have some palpable grit in its material, making the uplift feel emotionally true. For what else is "Begin Again" about but the brave act of asking for help and being equally brave to accept it?
Dear readers, leave your cynicism in the movie theater parking lot as there is no room for anything of the sort with "Begin Again." This is a film with many songs in its wide, open heart and perhaps, you will be singing along with it throughout and quite possibly, long after the end credits roll.
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