I absolutely love low budget films. They often surpass the quality of blockbusters because of their intimate nature and how powerful they could be for such a cheap production. Begin Again is definitely a good movie, but has many obstacles preventing it from achieving greatness.
Full of Charm
This film is simply a delight to watch. The characters are all fairly interesting, while the performance are all strong. Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, in particular, excel in their role. They offer complexion to their characters, and even progress in fairly unpredictable ways. The rest of the cast was good, but I was surprised by Adam Levine. He is a pretty good actor, and felt very natural in his role. I thought the film was shot very well. There were some very interesting shots, and it was just lovely to watch. The music in the film was very catchy as well. The aspect of the film that I enjoyed the most is the structure. This is not a linear piece of cinema. There are some unexpected time jumps, and I thought they were handled masterfully. It kept the film feeling fresh. I would also like to mention that the ending fit the film perfectly, and I thought it was very well done.
Been there, Done that
The biggest drawback to this film is that it is riddled with clichés. Hailee Steinfeld in particular is a walking cliché. I was able to predict where her character was going from the very beginning. Even her relationship with Mark Ruffalo was something that has been done before. It was a bit disappointing to see all the clichés, because so much of the film feels new and fresh.
Closing Remarks
While Begin Again had a lot going for it, I do not view it as a particularly memorable film. It is a good, and well made film, but too much of it feels far too familiar.