Pulses with Uplifting Life

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2014)

Carney's Once was a pleasant little surprise that bordered on being revelatory, with sweetness and beautiful music oozing out its ears. Begin Again doesn't fall far from that tree. It's a love letter to the power of music, during the mundane and the striking alike. Are its songs as immediately beautiful as Once? No, but at times that's the point: the instant gratification of pop music versus the idealism of art. Throughout its many highs and fleeting lows, Begin Again pulses with uplifting life. The framing is wonderfully inventive, starting on the night that Ruffalo and Knightley's characters meet and then jumping back to tell us how each of them got there. It's like a movie and its prequels rolled into one. Despite a couple of hurky-jerky scene cuts, the editing and pacing is pretty great: heartfelt and truly unique, with some super fun performances. Corden has a breakout role as the comedic relief BFF, Steinfeld authentically captures precocious teen-dom, and Ruffalo is always a pleasure. His character in particular is a case study for how to show and not tell, specifically in an early and hilarious scene of him listening to demo tapes. Begin Again wears its heart on its sleeve throughout (the subtle cinematography, the effective musical themes, NYC as a character), but sometimes when you wear your heart on your sleeve it can be overbearing. All the sincere goodness in the film is slightly marred by cheesiness, yet not overwhelmingly so. It overcomes these faults with slight and firmly planted romance. Begin Again will raise your spirits without pandering to your expectations.