BEGIN AGAIN

A chance encounter between a disgraced music-business executive and a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents.

Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo are nicely paired in this music-oriented drama/comedy. While there is an element of predictability the final outcomes of the movie are intelligent and believable. The music is not the dominant element of the film (which is hit and miss) – rather, the relationship between Knightley’s character, Gretta, and Ruffalo’s, Dan form the skeleton of the story with each of them dealing with secondary relationships in their lives. Particularly touching is the relationship between Dan and his daughter, Violet, played sensitively and maturely by Hailee Steinfeld (Ender’s Game). BEGIN AGAIN is not a demanding film – it travels easily and is enjoyable to watch. Knightley and Ruffalo are both excellent in their roles with a good supporting cast. An appealing movie worth checking out.

***1/2