Begin Again | Movie Review

Every song, we do at a different location. Under the bridge. Chinatown. Rowing boat in Central Park. Whatever happens, we record it.

We get arrested?

Keep rolling.

If you’ve been searching for a light-hearted comedy filled with good music and good feelings, look no further. Keira Knightley’s movie return has hit a high note.

Set in New York, Begin Again follows the story of a down on his luck alcoholic record producer, played by Mark Ruffalo, who finds talent in the form of Keira Knightley’s character. Then leads the usual up and downs in a musical film like this, but its still pleasing to watch.

Ruffalo and Knightley really shine in their roles. There’s something about Mark Ruffalo that helps him play an alcoholic, downbeat guy, since he pulled this off perfectly. And if anyone has watched Keira Knightley in most of her films, she plays the perfect girl-next-door and is used to the best of her abilities here. Her musical talent was very surprising too, with a very unexpected good singing voice. Another surprise was the standout performance of Hailee Steinfeld as Ruffalo’s daughter. Although, playing a moody teenager as a teenager is pretty easy, but she added a bit of character to her performance.

One of the few downfalls to the film is a couple of the cast. In particular James Corden and Adam Levine. The obvious aim was for Corden to provide a bit of comic relief, but he just wasn’t funny. Luckily, he isn’t in the film too much, so this could be easily looked over. Maroon 5’s frontman Levine is the other musical talent besides Knightley. No doubt his singing is on form, but unfortunately his acting doesn’t match. Other than that, it’s a solid big screen debut for Levine.

For a music film, the soundtrack is pretty mixed. Knightley’s tracks are outstanding, in particular ‘Like A Fool’ and ‘Lost Stars’.  Adam Levine, despite being the professional in the film, his tracks are mostly hit and miss. It’s not the worst soundtrack, but there have been better.

This feel good-comedy is a definite must see this summer if they’re your kind of thing. It’s the best music comedy in years, and Ruffalo and Knightley’s performances alone should be reason enough to go catch this at the cinema while you can.

8/10