Begin Again 15 – my review

Drama, Theme

1hr 44mins 2013

Director – John Carney (Once, On the Edge)

Stars – James Corden, Keira Knightly, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine

So, as I said at the start of my review for Chef, Begin Again has a very similar synopsise except that where Chef has food, Begin Again has music! Also under the ‘drama’ genre but, despite finding it a very chilled out film, there is less comedy than Chef. And again strong themes of making it on your own and going against commercialisation.

This story starts with a young British guy (James Corden) living in New York trying to make it into the music industry, his friend, who is played by Keira Knightly, has also been brought to New York through music but this time it is her boyfriend who is has actually made it.  Her boyfriend turns out to be Maroon 5’s Adam Levine with his first break into movies, his second break is in Pitch Perfect 2 which I hope to bring you a review of soon! Obviously there is loads of music being played with a set up like that and if you like Maroon 5, catchy guitars and stripped back tunes then you’ll probably really enjoy it! From the other reviews that I’ve read people seem to be very polarised about the music and if they haven’t enjoyed it, or Keria Knightlys singing, then it has turned them off the whole film.

Music aside I felt that the story is told in a very easy-going manner and would be great to watch with some mates on a warm summer evening with a chilled glass of wine, and perhaps have some of your own favourite music ready to put on after! The story has a sad start but has a general feel good vibe and I really liked the dynamics of the relationship between Knightley’s character and Mark Ruffalo’s, apparently they improvised quite a few of their scenes. There were a few interesting  story telling methods that I liked, one quite famous scene where Ruffalo ‘sees’ the music as it would be produced, but I also liked the way the movie flips around in time a bit to explain backstories, it’s not in a complicated or drawn out way only in small scenes, like diving into a memory.

There are also some interesting shots around New York City, always a winner with me, but this time they are focused in areas that only people who know the city would know, to give it that ‘down on the streets’ authentic feel I guess! And that’s basically what the film is about, getting away from commercialisation, bringing people together through music, being genuine about who you are and what you can bring and of course beginning again when you’re at the end!

I enjoyed both Chef and Begin Again, and as I said I probably enjoyed the recipes more than the music but mostly I liked the way they made me feel about how nowadays everyone can share what they bring so easily through social media, it’s not perfect and the world is a very big place but they were two inspiring films for someone who’s starting out on writing a blog! Only difference is that in the films there were a couple of professionals along the way…!

(Viewed on Netflix)

Tags: 15, Adam Levine, Begin Again, blog, film, Keira Knightly, movie, review