9.0 Popcorn boxes
Director John Carney, having hit gold with the wonderful 'Once', turns his scriptwriting talent to another modern musical, 'Begin Again'. Set in New York instead of Once's Dublin, the film begins when a troubled record company executive Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) gets fired from the company he founded years ago, for not bringing in successful musical acts. He spends the day drowning his sorrow with drink, at first accompanied by his teenaged daughter, then on his own. Drunk, he wanders into a bar that is showcasing local talent. Gretta James (Keira Knightley) is coxed on stage by her friend and fellow musician Steve (James Corden). Dan is almost immediately entranced by Gretta, and offers her a record contract, though he's not actually working anymore. Gretta dismisses her own talent, primarily because her boyfriend Dave Kohl (Adam Levine) is newly rich and famous for his music recently featured in a film (which Gretta contributed to). Dan perseveres, and the embark on making an album by themselves, without a contract or a studio.
'Begin Again' isn't as good as 'Once', but that magical film would be hard to duplicate. On its own, it's a solid rag-to-riches story with winning performances, especially Ruffalo's and Knightley's. The music is very good, and Knightley adequately sings all of her own songs. Glen Hansard, who wrote much of the music for 'Once', contributed to the music on this film. I'd watch it again, it's that pleasant.
Rated R for language
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