Can A Song Save Your Life?

A film rarely comments on its own narrative strategy so aptly. Begin Again uses music precisely in accordance with Dan’s statement that high-quality music can give cosmic depth to even the most banal scenes. And Carney almost ceaselessly uses music to that very effect. However, not even the best musical accompaniment can fully replace well-thought-out dramaturgy, well-developed characters and believable dialogue. The story lacks tension between the protagonists, as well any serious conflict or obstacles that they would have to overcome. If passionate musicians are limited by time or money, the narrative conceals this fact very well, as it seems that they are relatively well off and never suffer such hardship that they can’t hang out in cafés and bars or go shopping. Unfortunately for the natural-seeming actors who play them, both of the main characters are shallow and behave tersely. It’s not the forced dialogue (which tries to be clever by alluding to better films such as Jerry Maguire and Taxi Driver) that has the most life in it, but the scenes that are obviously improvised (the swimming pool) to a greater or lesser extent. However, this is true only of the dialogue between Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. Catherine Keener and Hailee Steinfeld in the roles of Dan’s mother and daughter, respectively, exist only in relation to the protagonist and serve exclusively as inanimate tools to convince us that Ruffalo is essentially a good person who loves his wife and is a good father despite his alcoholism, idleness and slightly hysterical nature. Even though Begin Again is a film without taste and without ideas, you will probably walk out of the cinema with an elevated mood if you give in to it and let it affect you. But you can’t think too much about its intellectual foundations, or lack thereof. If you do, you will soon realize how shallow and falsely broadminded the film actually is. Begin Again is outwardly sympathetic toward indie musicians, but it allows them only the path to success that leads through cooperation with major record companies. As I hinted at above, however, the fact that I refuse to accept submission to the mainstream as the norm is far from the only reason that I consider Begin Again to be a weaker film than Once. 50% (04.07.2014)

The director obviously thrives in a musical environment because this story was filmed with such deep feeling that I have not encountered anything similar in quite a long time. While I give Begin Again five stars, I am not saying that the movie Once was any worse. There it was mostly about the music, but the story was a bit on the sideline. This movie is great not only because of the music, but also because of the premise and mainly its interpretation. It is obvious that Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo are excellent actors because their characters were absolutely flawless. It was obvious that they were ordinary people from flesh and bone, who have their dreams but also issues and I have to say that I have not seen such realistic characters in a long time, and I was really rooting for them. The atmosphere of New York was also amazing as it made me feel like I was a part of it. It all fit together perfectly with the enjoyable music, so I cannot rate it any other way than with the perfect five stars. (08.06.2015)

Filming another life renewal where music plays the main role was the best thing John Carney could do. Those seven years since Once were filled with two films that no one saw, and his talent – that is, to provide viewers with enough optimism to last them at least a year ahead – had been long-awaited until Begin Again. Surprisingly, Carney has matured, polished the formal edges, and no longer feels the need to show in every shot that he is filming the most independent romance anyone has ever encountered. Thanks to the vibrant and perfectly cast central characters, Greta and Dan, he created something even better. More tightly written, even more determined, and speaking to the soul more intensely as one grows a bit older. (09.11.2014)

NYC, haunting music and a fairy tale Keira as we love her best – spontaneous and unbridled. A fully American romance that leaves a great feeling. (08.10.2017)

Sicher ist das kein überflüssiger Film, denn Musikfilme gibt es im Vergleich mit anderen Genres immer noch sehr wenige, aber ich habe mich dabei unglaublich gelangweilt. Ich habe die Minuten gezählt, dass die Handlung vorangeht. Vom Drehbuch her kam es mir schrecklich grau vor, und meine Sympathien-Antipathien überwogen diesmal eindeutig, was die zweite Möglichkeit betraf, ich mag Levin nicht, Morrow schon gar nicht, und Ruffalo kam mir wie eine der unerträglichsten Figuren überhaupt vor. Und von den Liedern hat mich wohl höchstens eines angesprochen, paradoxerweise das letzte, gesungen von Levin. (24.09.2014)

I was expecting it to catch my attention a little bit due to the cast, but I didn't believe that any romance could get to me. It did, maybe also because it's not so much about the romance itself, but more about the mouth and the beauty of her creation. Ruffalo is simply a great actor, but everyone here is supporting him excellently. (23.09.2014)

Ein angenehmer und sympathischer Film, der zu begeistern weiß und keinesfalls langweilt. Can A Song Save Your Life? ist definitiv einer der besseren Filme mit einem musikalischen Thema. Der Film ist voll hochwertiger und sehr hörenswerter Musik. Die Handlung ist nicht sehr dramatisch, warum auch?! In der Einfachheit liegt die Schönheit, und sie funktioniert gut in Kombination mit einer guten Besetzung. Keira Knightley war wunderbar als Gretta - die Rolle passte ihr wie angegossen. Ich habe einen angenehmen Nachmittag im Kino verbracht. (23.07.2014)