Musical Serendipity

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2014)

Dan used to be an maverick indie record producer and family man. However, time and luck turn against him in both aspects of his life. Greta is an idealistic singer-songwriter whose musician boyfriend Dave went astray when he gets entangled with the glare and trappings of commercial fame.
Dan and Greta meet each other at the very depth of their depression. But this fortuitous meeting would bring about a chain of events which may lead to a mutual reversal of fortunes for these two free-spirited individuals. Will these lost stars align once again with their collaboration?
These backgrounds of the lead characters are reminiscent of writer- director John Carney's breakthrough 2006 indie film, the delicate "Once." The story was also about musicians who led sad lives until they meet and click musically. The storytelling was propelled by the beautiful songs they sing. In "Begin Again" though, Carney's first Hollywood film, the setting is upgraded from suburban Ireland to New York City, and the cast is upgraded to A-list stars.
Mark Ruffalo perfectly captures the broken character of Dan, gruff exterior and deep-set cynicism. However, he has this goofy charm that makes you actually root for him to dig himself out of his hole. He seems to have genuine chemistry with all his co-stars, a rare quality.
Keira Knightley started so well in her career, but lately her talent has not been given the right roles to shine. Greta is such an awesome character for Keira, who I am sure no one even thought could sing so well. Everything she sings here I liked and I would like to hear over and over. Beautiful songs all.
Adam Levine plays the erring boyfriend Dave well considering this is his first major movie role. His singing was of course flawless in very catchy songs like the centerpiece tune "Lost Stars", which is this film's answer to "Falling Slowly" from "Once", certainly a contender for Oscar Best Song as well.
James Corden plays Greta's best friend in New York Steve. He provides the comic relief very subtly, a very nice guy. Catherine Keener plays Dan's ex-wife Miriam, who made the most of her little screen time. Hailee Steinfeld plays Dan's confused daughter Violet. Cee-Lo also has a marked cameo as one of Dan's former successful talents.
Like "Once", "Begin Again" is a film that is simply so refreshing and delightful midst all the big and noisy summer blockbusters. The story does not seem so original, that is true. However again, the unbelievably effective cast and the beautiful musical soundtrack both uplift the common story into a much higher level. If the songs speak to you, then you will love this movie. I definitely did. 9/10.