Begin Again

When I saw the first trailer of "Begin Again", I suddenly realized that this would be a worthy film to see, but after watching it, I only came to realize how well-crafted this film really is. This is a film that 'burns' slowly to get you to that place of pure enjoyment of what you are witnessing on the screen.

Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label as a singer. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her good friend Steve (James Corden) talks her into going to a favorite East Side stage and her world then takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced, fired record-label exec and producer happens to stumble upon her while she's performing at that stage, and is immediately captivated by her raw talent. From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York.

Others to round out the cast are Hailee Steinfeld as Violet, Dan and Miriam's daughter, Yasiin Bey AKA Mof Def as Saul, Dan's record-label partner, Cee Lo Green as Troublegum, singer star Dan helped, Catherine Keener as Miriam, Dan's ex-wife, Aya Cash as Jenny, Ian Brodsky as Malcolm, Shannon Maree Walsh as Rachel, Jennifer Li as Mim and Paul Romero as Bartender.

This was brilliantly and refreshingly written and directed by consummate filmmaker John Carney ("November Afternoon" '96, "Park" '99, "On the Edge" '01, "Once" '06, "Zonad" '09, "The Rafters" '12). This is one director that is able to emit so much communication between his actors with so few words, it's staggers the mind. I'd give you specifics in this, but it could ruin certain scenes for you. It is written in a way that starts at the end of one day and then backs up and Carney does this more than once which makes this more unique because of its non-sequential format. This isn't an easy format to convey without becoming convoluted, but this guy does it effortlessly. Carney doesn't work on a plethora of projects, but what he does is a guaranteed work of quality and art. Ruffalo and Knightley's chemistry is pure perfection as one can obviously see.

As aforementioned, this film 'burns' slowly, but this is to get its audience set up so when these two artists finally meet, it's fireworks in collaboration and friendship that will give everyone a sense that art and passion can triumph over money, fame and all the 'looking good' stuff which traps so many in this field.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                 Rated: R                              104mins.