A fresh and heartwarming New York summer ballad

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2014)

If you are looking for a feel-good movie, you have found one to see. It's a movie about friendship, about failures and new beginnings, about solidarity, about second chances, about life. It's also about love, and what I liked most was the total absence of trite sentimentalism, which would have ruined the meaning and sense of the story, where feelings are never made explicit, but simply flow along with the music played and sung in the corners of New York. And what new, what else can be said about this unique city?: still full of hope, full of life, still the place nurturing the dreams of men and women, and even where an album can be recorded en plein air. I liked the warm and heartwarming atmosphere and the settings, I also liked the songs, which are never obtrusive and manage to communicate how music can shape and even change people and things. As far as acting, Mark Ruffalo really steals the show, thanks to a strong and biting performance, Keira Knightley does her good job as an actress and as a singer, as well. On the whole, a truly enjoyable, fresh picture, making one feel like being there