Begin Again

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: June 27, 2014

8.2	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 273 Ratings

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seventhsealNov 30, 2014

What was so successful in Carneys ONCE fails to reemerge in BEGIN AGAIN. I feel this is partly due to casting, Knightly is wrong from the role of Greta, I feel this role would have been better realized by a more unfamiliar and better actress.What was so successful in Carneys ONCE fails to reemerge in BEGIN AGAIN. I feel this is partly due to casting, Knightly is wrong from the role of Greta, I feel this role would have been better realized by a more unfamiliar and better actress. Ruffalo also falls short which for me is an ever bigger disappointment as I am a big fan generally.

I lost interest in the characters and story of this film. Maybe yes to a large degree this is due to the fact I sensed very quickly that the bench mark of ONCE would not be found or close to being found by this outing.

Unfortunately I gave such little attention/interest to the characters in this film I am unable to provide a more detailed review of the actual film itself.

Carney can do and must do much better than this mild sell out of a production. Overall I will class this a lame pony with one eye missing and only 2 teeth remaining in its mange-riddled head.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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LamontRaymondJun 28, 2014

This one left me flat. It doesn't hold a candle to the filmmakers previous work "Once", which had so much feeling and soul to it. Another thing that Once had going for it was amazing music, and tremendous singers. I love Knightly (and IThis one left me flat. It doesn't hold a candle to the filmmakers previous work "Once", which had so much feeling and soul to it. Another thing that Once had going for it was amazing music, and tremendous singers. I love Knightly (and I love the rest of this amazing cast - with the exception of Levine who I don't know much about), but she cannot carry the music. Her voice is average, and I couldn't get behind any of the songs. It's a problem. And the chemistry between Knightly and Ruffalo is just strange. It can't even touch the chemistry between Sandler and Vega in Spanglish - then again, that's a high bar. And I frankly just didn't get the ending at all.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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philatJul 24, 2014

Mark Ruffalo is the star of this movie which revolves around the pop music world and a plot of climbing out of the depths to regain prominence not only professionally but in his personal life as well. Keira Knightley provides a pleasant foilMark Ruffalo is the star of this movie which revolves around the pop music world and a plot of climbing out of the depths to regain prominence not only professionally but in his personal life as well. Keira Knightley provides a pleasant foil to Ruffalo's character as she too faces personal decisions in her life. Fortunately, the chemistry between the two is there but not exploited in the usual Hollywood fashion. Whether the music is good, bad, or indifferent will depend on the viewer's background and age. One wonders, as in so many movies, how the directors and writers of movies from the 1930s to the mid-1960s were able to produce often excellent movies without use of the f word and variants, which trips off the tongues of the main characters like water dripping from a leaky faucet.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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JPManningJul 21, 2014

Pretty formulaic. Runs through all the standard cliches very quickly. Main characters not really fleshed out. Nice music though, and a good ending. Adam Levine does a nice job acting.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a drama film with an emphasis on music, of course. It features themes including showbusiness, singing, recording and female musicians. First off, I quite enjoyed Kiera Knightley's singing (which is mostly pop/folk type songs) and I liked that she, as the lead female character, was quite independent, fiesty and self assured, hence she's clearly more on the up than the male lead, Dan (played by Mark Ruffalo). I felt it was quite refreshing to see a film depicting a woman being more in the driving seat, if you know what I mean. It could easily be classified as a chick flick type of film I suppose, with Kiera's character, Gretta, being sassy and so on but it didn't strike me as quite as pure saccarine sweet as some rom com's I've come across. I don't tend to watch many of those.

I liked that the singer Adam Levine appeared in it - he's well known for being in the US group Maroon 5, so it does add a certain element of realism to it. I'm not sure I'd agree that fellow co-star James Corden (who plays Steve) is quite as good when it comes to singing or performing as a musician however(!). Joking aside, other cast members include Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Violet, Yasiin Bey as Saul and Catherine Keener as Miriam.

The music featured is predominantly quite light in tone, acoustic/unplugged, pretty pleasant, if a little 'airy fairy' but I quite enjoyed it. I suppose it helps to be in a good mood when watching this, as if your in a bad mood then you may feel more likely to roll your eyes and switch it off possibly. It probably didn't quite contain the substance I may have hoped for in such a film categorised as a drama and by that I mean it wasn't exactly a fast paced thriller of a film. The characters are fairly interesting/intriguing and I liked Gretta well enough but the main plot wasn't exactly amazing. Its a pretty light and I guess easy watch.

Content wise, the film contains sex references and strong language including some offensive instances of name calling and some pejorative references to different groups of people (teenagers/singers etc.). There are drug references and characters shown who are drunk but otherwise there isn't anything much likely to offend to upset. The film has been given a 15 rating in the UK.

Its fair to say that this is a film which is optimistic in tone, which is somewhat summery and may be an enjoyable watch, particularly if your keen on dramas which focus on character development, films with strong female lead roles and you like contemporary folk music perhaps. It isn't in any way a memorable film - I can't see myself thinking back to it in the future at all but it isn't as bad as it perhaps could have been. To me it was relatively good but, I suppose, probably more average or alright over all, as for my personal tastes it seemed to lack a real depth or substance, so I'll err on the side of caution somewhat and go for an overall 5 out of 10 rating for this one.

I suppose I would cautiously recommend this film. It features decent performances from Knightley and Ruffalo and has some fun music - the plot pace is a little slow and it isn't especially dramatic as such but itd alright. Its a fairly easy watch and it isn't as cringey as some 'chick flicks' I've seen, so it could be worse. However, it won't suit everyone - if your looking for a really dramatic film, or a film featuring a speedy plot pace, or if you hate cheese then this won't be for you and I didn't feel it was very memorable either. It has good points and bad points, so I suppose I'd leave it up to the individual to decide if they'd enjoy it or not - I'd, personally, hoped for a bit more substance but thats a personal preference.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Gamzguy17Aug 21, 2021

The film has heart and the chemistry between Kiera Knightly and Mark Ruffalo is nice, but the experience one gets from watching the film is the equivalent to being on tour with an uninspired, lazy tour guide. I'm talking about that one guideThe film has heart and the chemistry between Kiera Knightly and Mark Ruffalo is nice, but the experience one gets from watching the film is the equivalent to being on tour with an uninspired, lazy tour guide. I'm talking about that one guide who doesn't care if they get fired soon. The one who will show off the locations and attractions, but they want to get the tour done and over with as quickly as possible.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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13keeper13Dec 20, 2021

fine movie with a really good acting and actors and an absolutely awful ending , its like the screenwriter has died at the middle of film and they just wanted to prolong it with music and then it got out of their control and they found theirfine movie with a really good acting and actors and an absolutely awful ending , its like the screenwriter has died at the middle of film and they just wanted to prolong it with music and then it got out of their control and they found their selves without an ending then decided to show us some part of it after the actual ending at the credits , watch it if you are bored or you are music lover but i think its not a good movie and you cant enjoy it very much if you watch it for being a good movie , just watch it as an amusing movie....… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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