Starring Kiera Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, Begin Again combines music, heartbreak, and beautiful shots of New York City to create a pleasant film experience. Knightley plays a young songwriter who follows her musician boyfriend, played by Adam Levine, to New York City where he has obtained a recording contract. While her life there begins with hope and excitement, it soon falls apart as fame changes the man she used to know.
Ruffalo plays a music producer who is down on his luck. After a sudden separation from his wife, and the rapid changes in the music industry affecting his job, his life begins to fall apart. Relying on alcohol to get through the day, he also struggles to keep a relationship with his teenage daughter, played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Rounding out the cast is musician Cee Lo Green, as one of Ruffalo’s most successful clients, and British sensation James Corden, as Knightley’s humorous close friend.
The film is set up uniquely, as we open up on a scene where Knightley’s character is performing in a bar. We see it in her perspective, and then see it in Ruffalo’s perspective. Ruffalo loves what he hears and sees promise in her performance. From there we learn how both characters got to that moment, before we follow them on a journey to record an album on the streets of New York. Their friendship allows them to decide what they want in life and that they will both be okay despite the struggles they have been facing.
Having seen Knightley primarily in period pieces, it was nice to see her in a film set in modern-day. She seemed natural and her singing voice was better than expected. I did wish we could have seen Hailee Steinfeld sing, since she will be one of the new Bellas in Pitch Perfect 2, out next year.
I found Begin Again to be the perfect movie to balance out the usual summer blockbusters. It was simple, sweet, and will make you want to go to New York City for your own special journey.
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