Good Enough...

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2019)

There are some problems with this movie: Mark Ruffalo's shambolic (yet charmingly Mark Ruffalo-esque) record producer is encrusted with cliche; Keira Knightley (or her character Gretta) has the charisma of a wet dishrag; the "stick it to the man" aspect is weakened by the music spearheading that assault being anodyne in the extreme; the "recorded in the open air" thing is undercut by the music you hear actually being quite slickly produced (I was particularly put-off by the perfection of the streetkids' backing vocals); the music Gretta likes is more suited to a fifty-something, which is probably some indication of the tastes of the director/writer(s); the film is essentially an unnecessary remake of 'Once'. While there are moments which satisfy, the overall enterprise feels like a bit of a misfire. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, and, honestly, I was pleasantly diverted for the film's length, but don't expect any truth or "authenticity" (one of Gretta's watchwords). That the principal relationship (spoiler alert!) DOESN'T result in a romance is a positive, and the scenes of music-making are fairly joyful, but apart from that you're probably better off watching the director's debut film.