TwittReview: “Begin Again” – a movie with lots of heart and gusto rolled into great performances by Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, and Maroon 5 front-man Adam Levine. Grade B+

John Carney delivers a solid movie about two people who are “lost” in their own lives and it isn’t until a chance encounter that they realize that they need each other and the music each brings to move forward with their lives.

Greta (Keria Knightley) moved to New York with her boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) when his music was selected to be on the soundtrack for an upcoming movie. Dave’s popularity with the record label has him jetting to LA to record his first solo album leaving Greta behind in New York. During this month, Greta explores New York and runs into a friend, Steve (James Corden) who is a street performer, whom she hasn’t seen since their days in Connecticut.  When the month is over and Dave comes back, he plays Greta a song that he recorded while in LA and Greta learns through the lyrics that Dave cheated on her and fell in love with this person. Greta runs to live with her friend Steve as he is the only other person in New York she knows. Steve’s apartment is filled with old recording equipment that he purchased from studios that are upgrading to newer equipment. One night Steve takes Greta with him to an open-mic night at a local bar he performs at and has her come to the stage to perform a song she wrote.

Dan (Mark Ruffalo) along with his friend Saul (Mos Def) started their own record label to help the small bands get noticed and sell their music. This label grew but over time due to the digital age, they are looking for new ways to make money with and for their artists. During the past few years, Dan has gone from caring to not-caring due to his wife Miriam (Catherine Keener) cheating on him while she was over seas covering a band on tour for an article she was writing. The plan was for her and the rocker to come back and tell their significant others that they are in love with the other person. Miriam did, the rocker did not. So while Miriam was waiting by the phone for the call that never came, Dan started drinking and spiraling into a deep depression all the while still loving his wife and their daughter Violet (Hailee Steinfeld). Things come to a crux when Dan is late to a client meeting that Saul is championing which would have a band do an audio commentary on their CD for their music, an idea that Dan things is just wrong on many levels. They argue after the meeting is over and Saul kicks Dan out of the building and the company. Dan drinks his worries away in this local bar one night where he hears Greta’s song and it changes his life and eventually hers.

Dan hears the music…not just the song that Greta is singing but the music that he feels would sweeten the song and make this a hit. He likes the rawness of the lyrics that Greta wrote and wants her to record an album with him. After pitching the idea to Saul, it is agreed that the label will publish her music after a demo CD is created. Dan has a great idea – Summer in New York – the entire CD will be recorded live, outside in various parts of the city. This recording effort leads to Dan gaining a new look on life as he has something and someone he cares about while Greta is able to move forward and sing the songs she writes as to giving them to her now ex-boyfriend as she has done in the past.

One night after a party, Greta and Steve call Dave and leave a message on his voice mail. However this message is a song and the lyrics tell him that Greta is over him and is moving on as well as letting Dave know that he is a jerk for what he did. Dave, lost in his own world calls Greta and asks to meet where they both realize that they had a good thing going and Dave messed it up. Dave’s album was all dictated by the studio where Greta’s was dictated by life; both have a distinct feel and sound and show how each has grown as a person and a singer. This is huge as the music reflects who they are and Greta convinces Dave to play a song that she wrote for him, as himself and not gum-it-up with the pop-sound that the studio wants it to be.

Begin Again also has a commentary on the music industry and how the big studios can dictate the sound but also the price for the music being purchased let alone the money the singers/musicians make per download and CD. Where Saul wants to move the independent studio into that bigger money direction, Dan wants to keep the foundations the same way as it was built, where the musicians are part of the process. Greta proves this when she decides to not sell the CD via Dan’s studio but sell it online for $1 as it’s not about the money but the songs and getting the messages out there.

Begin Again delivers a dramady look on life with ups and downs. The music leaves you tapping your feet and let’s give credit where credit is due….Adam Levine can sing (in case you hadn’t known). Overall a fun movie with a lot to offer. Rated R with a run time of 104 minutes, Begin Again is a great movie to enjoy with your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend and have a night out.