It feels good, sounds passable, looks great, and is a really worn out plot

Rating: 5/10 (3 November 2014)

Begin Again (2013)
A charming tale of love a music in New York.
Yes, I suppose that's a lead that could be reused for a lot of movies. And that's the biggest drawback here—it's another feelgood movie with people overcoming the odds and making it.
Is it well done? Sometimes, yes. Mark Ruffalo as a down-on-his luck music producer is strong, giving that cliché some honest believability. (He drinks, but he's not suicidal, he has been kicked out by his wife, but he's still pretty normal with her and their daughter.) So really Ruffalo and his wife played with usual natural charm (and only briefly) by Catherine Keener create a relatable normalcy here. In a world that is usually all hype.
But then, this is New York, not Los Angeles, and so the city and its gritty realism has a large role. And a critical role, since the starving young musician who is ostensibly the largest star, played by Keira Knightley, plays her gigs on location throughout New York. So part of the movie is a kind of fast tour of groovy spots in the city, the musicians performing and recording as they go. Cool.
The weak point for me was frankly the music. Most of it was invented somehow for Knightley and her makeshift band, composed by some little known music professionals behind the scenes (like Gregg Alexander). Knightley did play and sing on her own, and I guess you have to admire her picking up those new skills. But she's not great. In fact she's just as good as the average good performer in your family (and if you're a Jackson or a Cash, this doesn't apply to you). So you have to just go with the flow and the plot and promise to not care.
And so it feels and looks pretty good. And has a fun final moment where the album is released and sold for a dollar on the internet (this is a small spoiler, I admit)—but it matters because if you go to get the soundtrack to the movie, it ain't a buck. It's $9.99 on iTunes, and I don't recommend it.
So the whole sham of it all sinks in. This is just another vehicle for a well-worn idea and some rather decent acting in a beautiful city.