‘Begin Again’ is the Perfect New York Love Story

You may have missed 2014’s Begin Again, but you can fix that right now. The film, directed by Once’s John Carney, is available on Netflix and very much worth a watch.
Whether you live in the 5 boroughs, or 5,000 miles away from them, this film will make you fall in love with New York City: with its rhythms, with its music and with the people that live inside of it.
The movie follows Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a divorced dad who picks up his daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) from school, only to have her witness him lose his job at a record label and get punched in the face after skipping out on his bar tab. Pretty crappy day! But in true New York fashion, it all changes in a moment. Due to a subway change (ugh, typical), he stumbles into a bar and catches a performance by Gretta (Keira Knightley) that hits him in the eardrums, in the gut, and in the heart.
Meanwhile Gretta is coming off a breakup with her boyfriend/writing partner (Adam Levine) who is breaking through as a singer-songwriter, leaving her behind as he enjoys his ride on the roller coaster of fame (ugh, typical Levine). Gretta finds support from her friend Steve (a pre-Carpool Karaoke James Corden), as well as Dan who refuses to give up on her.

With money being a little tight for everyone, they gather up what can only be referred to as a rag-tag group of musicians and decide to record her demo in the streets of New York. The literal streets. Corners and alleys and subways and rooftops and right smack in the middle of Washington Square Park: the entire city is their recording studio and they utilize every corner of it. They even record from rowboats in Central Park! There is no place off limits, and no place their music won’t take them. Well, until the police or an angry neighbor show up.
Dan bribes a group of children to sing backup by offering them 1 cigarette (yes, that’s one for the entire group to share), and taps into other musicians working odd jobs to help round out the performances, including his daughter Violet, who turns out to be a talented guitar player and singer. It’s a true New York story, confirming that anything can happen here. A person can go from a perfect stranger to your bandmate in under 30 seconds flat.

Oh, one thing you should know: you might want to watch this movie while standing up. If you dare yourself to sit down during it, you will be faced with lots of bopping around on your couch/chair as you watch them create beautiful performances all around town. Songs like “Coming Up Roses” and “Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home” will find your foot tapping to the beat while your heart skips one. Go ahead, try not to get goosebumps on your arm.
As a New Yorker, the places they use to record their pretty songs are patches of the city you wouldn’t look twice at, just places you would stomp by while your ear buds are secured tightly in your ears. Which brings us to one of the most special NYC moments this film has to offer. Dan gets a hold of Gretta’s iPod and they stroll though Times Square listening to songs from it, from Frank Sinatra to Stevie Wonder. A reminder that some songs are so good that they make walking through Times Square not just tolerable, but fun, even!

It’s a magical moment between two people and their city. Really, there is nothing more romantic than sharing earbuds and walking around town on a warm summer night. They might not be necessarily falling in love with each other, but with each other’s love of music. Opening up your playlist to someone is as vulnerable as opening up your heart. Maybe even more so, when they stumble on your guiltiest pleasure songs. Following these two as they listen to a variety of music in an even larger variety of locations: Union Square, Central Park, the subway, a dance club; the list goes on, and makes you forget that New York isn’t always the loveliest of places. This movie is a fantastic reminder of the places a song can take you in New York City, both literally and just in your ear canals.
There’s a little bit of tension between Dan and Gretta, but it never feels purely sexual. It feels like a soulmate situation, two people that are connecting over the power of music. Gretta’s story is a uniquely New York story, about pursuing your dreams. It’s scary and you can fail, and sometimes having that one person believe in you, can help you stay true and grow into the person you are supposed to be.
Begin Again is a sweet story that is equally as fun to watch and sing along to. It’s a reminder of what life in New York City can be when you pay attention in between the hustle and bustle. That a performance can happen anywhere, a subway delay can cause you to meet someone truly important to your life, and that the music of the city is everywhere.
[Watch Begin Again on Netflix]