Begin Again is the
type of film that flies under a lot of people’s radar, precisely because it’s a
niche genre film that is perfectly adequate at what it’s trying to accomplish,
but isn’t really amazing enough to garner a large following or achieve critical
acclaim. This is a musical drama, where
the plot takes a back seat to the music on display, and I’m not a music
critic. I will say that I did think the
songs were good, and if watching a 100-minute collection of soft rock music
videos is your thing, I’d say that the film and its soundtrack album will
likely be right up your alley. For the
rest of us, Begin Again is an
alright, if ultimately forgettable, time waster.
The film opens on a performance on guitar by Kiera Knightley
(the character names don’t really matter) at an open mic night, and Mark
Ruffalo notices her and begins enthusiastically applauding her. Through a flashback that will ultimately lead up
to the open mic scene, we learn that Ruffalo is a recently fired producer who
has become estranged from his wife and daughter and is looking for a way to
break back into the music business. And
then another flashback shows us Knightley’s humble beginnings as the girlfriend
and songwriter for a soon-to-be breakout hit artist, who then non-consensually remixes her songs
into pop hits and cheats on her with his producer. Ruffalo and Knightley decide to team up for
an unprecedented outdoor-recorded album, and seek to prove to the world and
themselves that they have what it takes to make great music.
This is about as corny as it sounds, but taking the film for
what it is, it hits the beats pretty well.
Those who know music will recognize Maroon 5’s Adam Levine as
Knightley’s ex-boyfriend, as well as cameo appearances by Mos Def and CeeLo
Green, so that’s a nice touch for its intended audience. However, if I’m going to make some technical
quibbles about the film, the extended flashbacks that make up the first act of
the film really don’t serve any purpose that telling the story in chronological
order couldn’t serve. I understand that
it ties in with the film’s title (beginning the story again, as it were), but
if the symbolism doesn’t do anything to further the narrative, I don’t see why
it’s necessary. Furthermore, there is
some definite romantic chemistry between Ruffalo and Knightley, which I’m not
sure was intentional given that the film never really deigns to explore
it. It may have been meant to come off
as a burgeoning friendship, and it certainly works as that, but the slow steady
looks and a date-like montage really start to beg a question that the film
wordlessly pushes under the rug.
But when all is said and done, the film’s plot really only
serves as a skeleton to put the meaty musical numbers onto, and measuring by that
metric, the film is largely a success.
It’s not really my cup of tea, but I’m sure someone out there will be
listening to this soundtrack on repeat for a few weeks at a time. Give this one a rental to see if you will
too.
Have your own favorite musical drama? Let me know in the comments below.
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