Begin Again (2013)

4/5

John Carney's Begin Again is a touching musical drama. Keira Knightley plays a songwriter who discovers her boyfriend, celebrity singer Dave Kohl (Levine), has cheated on her. Alone in New York, she meets up with an old friend (Corden) and they sing at an open mic night. The simple, unvarnished ballad she delivers grabs the attention of a music producer (Ruffalo) who was just fired from the studio he founded. They form an unlikely partnership and work together on a bold idea for a new album, in which every song is recorded live in the streets of New York.

If it sounds familiar, it's because it's written and directed by the same person who made Once: John Carney. The songs are tender and soulful, well-made and heartfelt. With indie filmmaking and an indie spirit, the movie as a whole absolutely delights. The big problem is that Begin Again feels so much like Carney's previous musical. That doesn't make it bad, just tired and old. The only reason I like this more than Once is that it takes place in New York and is targeted more toward American sensibilities. But redoing the same type of story filled with the same type of songs for a different time and place isn't enough. I want to see new stuff from this brilliant musical director. I want to know what else he's capable of.

The acting was fantastic. Knightley delivers another stellar performance, filled with small looks and movements that carry enormous weight to them. Her singing voice isn't bad either. Adam Levine is like her opposite, with awesome singing but mediocre acting. The rest of the cast is fantastic, somehow bringing a vivacity to the movie that gives it an instant nostalgia, like you're watching a once-in-a-lifetime event unfold before your very eyes. I think that's Carney's strongest aspect as a director, creating an urgency to his movies and compelling you to watch them. I can't wait for his next one; I just hope he brings more to the table that we haven't seen before.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/

Once (2006)

3/5

John Carney's Once is a movie for romantic music fans. The story is very simplistic, but also very honest, which gave it a refreshing and satisfying ending. It follows an Irish street musician in Dublin for about a week, during which time he meets and falls in love with a Czech girl. They both have an unrelenting love of music, which serves as the starting point for their relationship. But it's also the entire movie. They just sing songs together, too many songs, and it gets a bit old. Most of the songs are excellent, however, and in fact three in particular remain in my mind. It's no coincidence that they come at three of the most poignant moments in the movie. The first is when they first sit down and sing "Falling Slowly" together, the second is when the guy lets the girl write the lyrics to his song "If You Want Me," and the third is when we hear the girl sing a song she's written, "The Hill," but breaks down midway through and cannot finish.

Unfortunately, I found nothing more to the movie than that: a story that was at times moving (but also at times confusing) with a lot of music that was at times touching (but also at times overbearing). The acting was underwhelming--it felt like two people trying to act natural and ignore the camera--and the excessive swearing took a lot away from the romance. Accents were difficult to understand throughout. I didn't like the camerawork much at all. Sometimes it worked, but one time in particular it very much did not. When they first sing "Falling Slowly" together, the camera moves around like an antsy child. The camera becomes a person trapped in the room with them, at once removing the intimacy and romance. They should've stuck it on a tripod and let the musicians do their thing. So, granted there are a lot of mistakes in this short indie feature, but there are also a lot of things done right. And at 85 minutes, I think the successes outweigh the failures, so check it out if your interest is piqued.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/