Four stars. Rated R, for profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 7.4.14
It’s a bit rough around the edges
at first, the approach uncertain, the artist perhaps nervous and worried about
looking foolish.
A needless concern.
I could be discussing the first
song we see performed by Greta (Keira Knightley), reluctantly and a bit shyly,
in front of an indifferent bar crowd. But I’m actually talking about this film
itself: Perhaps writer/director John Carney is that clever, to have mirrored
Greta’s stumbling debut before the public eye, with our reaction to the manner
in which her story unfolds.
Because, in both cases, the
talent involved can’t help but win us over.
Begin Again is the newest
offering from the Irish filmmaker who charmed us so thoroughly with the saga of
a Dublin busker in 2006’s Once, a film cherished just as much for its music —
and that marvelous, Academy Award-winning song, “Falling Slowly” — as for the gently romantic manner in
which its story unfolded.
Carney’s new film once again
revolves around music, but the setting and tone are both different and somewhat
grittier. This narrative has a villain, but it’s an entity rather than an
individual: the music industry, depicted as the instrument by which pure
expression is quashed, either benignly or overtly. Remaining true to one’s
dreams, passions and (reasonable) expectations is the ideal here: a goal too
easily corrupted, as we shall see, by outside forces conscious only of the
bottom line.
Those who adore New York for its
cornucopia of emotions and experiences will delight in Carney’s rapturous
depiction: a Big Apple we’ve not seen idolized so passionately since Woody
Allen’s Manhattan, back in 1979. This is a New York of joyous romance, much
like the Paris of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie: the city as we imagine it,
based on cinematic valentines like this one.
The story opens in the
aforementioned East Village bar, as the unwilling Greta is dragged to the stage
for one song: a brief musical interlude noticed by nobody except Dan (Mark
Ruffalo), whose presence — in that bar, at that moment — is explained during
the first of Carney’s clever flashbacks. Dan, once a lauded record label exec,
has fallen on hard times prompted by a crisis in his personal life; the result
is growing friction with his longtime partner, Saul (Mos Def), which climaxes
in yet another humiliation.
Dan also drinks too much, and has
been doing so for too long. But his radar remains unimpaired: He’s drawn, moth
to flame, by this hesitant performance by a British singer/songwriter who’d
rather be anywhere else.
At which point, we learn what
brought this shy woman to this stage, at this moment. The clock rolls back
further, to when a deliriously happy Greta arrives in New York with boyfriend
Dave (Adam Levine, of Maroon 5), who has just been “discovered” by a major
music label. The perks are intoxicating, the environment irresistible. Dave ...
succumbs. Greta gets left behind: a devastating blow, because she’s not merely
his longtime lover, but also his artistic muse. She wrote, or co-wrote, the
songs that have made him famous.
How ironic, then, that this unrehearsed
bar performance is to be her swan song, before hopping a plane and returning to
London the very next day.
Dan won’t have it. Despite being
drunk, disheveled and distractingly giddy, he retains his power of persuasion,
his ability to seduce by speaking the language of artistic poetry. Despite her
obvious doubts — this guy a music exec, seriously? — Greta cannot ignore him.
So she buys into the dream.
It’s an odd dream: a plan to
impress his partner by producing a truly unusual demo disc. Assembling a combo
of talented supporting musicians willing to forgo immediate financial
compensation for the sheer joy of being involved in something exciting, Dan
orchestrates a series of guerrilla recording sessions throughout the city: open
air, ambient sounds and all.
By this point, we’re enthralled.
We buy into Carney’s deliciously romantic concept, and as much as we’re already
smiling, our appreciation broadens as the first song is laid down with
unexpected backing from some street children. Honestly, could anything be more enchanting?
As he did in Once, Carney finds
ingenious ways to integrate songs into this narrative. The on-street,
single-song concerts are an easy touch; by far the cleverest is the kiss-off
song Greta performs, into a cell phone, to the long-absent Dave. That latter
moment is breathtaking, particularly as Greta chokes during the final verse,
modifying her lyrics somewhat unexpectedly ... but extremely satisfyingly.
Knightley is divine in this role:
as captivating a New York City gamine as we’ve seen since Audrey Hepburn
trolled for “dates” in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Knightley’s wide smile
is both unusual and irresistible: an animated display of teeth that is uniquely
her own, and utterly adorable. She’s also persuasive as a songwriter turned
reluctant performer, mostly as a means to protect her craft, her vision, her
sense of her material.
The songs themselves are catchy
and joyous: can’t-miss ballads and modern torch tunes (mostly) by Carney and
Gregg Alexander, the latter from the band New Radicals. One tune, “Coming Up
Roses,” comes from Carney’s Once star, Glen Hansard. This soundtrack is
destined to fly off the shelves, as was the case with the album for Once.
Ruffalo probably should take
care, lest he be typecast as the scruffy lost soul he plays here to such
perfection. But it’s hard to fault the casting choice when Ruffalo fits Dan’s
shoes so precisely, managing to remain somewhat appealing even during his worst
moments. It’s the twinkle in his eye, and the passion that erupts every time
Dan discusses music. No surprise, then, that Greta succumbs to Dan’s vision;
heck, I’d follow him anywhere.
Hailee Steinfeld has a strong
supporting role as Violet, Dan’s estranged and now quite rebellious teenage
daughter, on the fast track to nothing good. Steinfeld, such a strong presence
in 2010’s remake of True Grit, is equally persuasive here: the sullen teen
furious with a father who ignores her too much, and yet just as desperate for
his love and attention (we see the crushed disappointment in her eyes).
The early father/daughter dynamic
is waspish and brittle, the girl’s barbed comments dead-on and deftly
delivered. Grown men have been killed by less.
James Cordon is a hoot as the
expat Steve, Greta’s longtime pal from back home in London, whose participation
proves crucial to this unusual musical project. Steve serves as Greta’s
conscience, to a degree, and Cordon’s snarky one-liners never fail to amuse.
But he’s also capable of kindness and sensitivity.
And music: His two “Busking
Songs” are hilarious.
Catherine Keener — always a
strong asset, in any role — delivers a nicely layered performance as Miriam,
Dan’s estranged wife. It’s an intriguing role: Miriam hates what has happened
to Dan, but remains fond of him nonetheless ... and we must take care not to
draw conclusions about the precise nature of their separation, because the
eventual truth of the matter turns out to be a surprise.
Levine is spot-on as the shallow,
dirt-bag Dave: so easily swayed into betraying everything and everybody. Rob
Morrow is memorably horrific in a fleeting cameo as an insincere label exec,
and CeeLo Green is marvelous as Troublegum, a rap star who owes his career and
lavish lifestyle to Dan, and knows how to repay his friends (and boy, wouldn’t
you love to have one of him by your side!).
The strong performances
notwithstanding, you’re most likely to remember enchanting montage moments,
such as when Dan and Greta boldly share their playlists with each other,
walking the New York streets while buddy-listening via two sets of headphones
(cue classics such as Frank Sinatra’s “Luck, Be a Lady,” Stevie Wonder’s “For
Once in My Life” and Dooley Wilson’s “As Time Goes By”).
Sweet as that is, I was most
taken by the early scene that illustrates Dan’s vision for what Greta’s simple
guitar solo, on that first song we hear, could turn into: The stage’s unused
instruments begin to accompany her, in his mind’s eye, and we witness the
result ... as perfect a means of visualizing the creative spark as I’ve ever
seen.
Begin Again likely will be a
tough sell, during this summer season of frivolous popcorn fluff. It may not
survive long in theaters. But any necessary effort will be rewarded by what
you’ll discover is, to employ the old-fashioned term, an irresistibly memorable
night at the movies.
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