The reason I chose Begin Again (2013) is because of the title.  Spiritually speaking, it is something God offers to all Christians in any circumstance, though us Catholics have a special insight on the eponymous process through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  With a contrite heart, no matter how you believe you have offended God through sin, you can begin again.  If you watch the movie (or read my synopsis), you will know that it has nothing to do with Faith.  This is me reacting to the words I saw on the screen of a streaming service, taking it as God reminding me of the truth thus far articulated.  Maybe it is a message you need to hear today, too?

What Gretta James (Keira Knightley) is unprepared to hear at the start of Begin Again is her longtime friend from England, Steve (James Corden), urging her onto the stage of an intimate bar.  She is cajoled into playing one of her songs, which she finally, haltingly performs.  Amongst the patrons treating it as wallpaper music is Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo).  The first half of the movie is about setting up these two characters, and we spend the initial part with Dan.  He is a down-on-his-luck record producer, having started a successful independent label with his business partner, Saul (Yasiin Bey).  This sounds like a prosperous life, but Dan’s desire for authentic sound alienates Saul, leading to Dan being asked to leave his own company.  This fuels his desire to drink, including when he picks up his daughter, Violet Mulligan (Hailee Steinfeld), from high school.  She wants to like her dad, but Dan’s alcoholism and the fact that he is separated from his wife, Miriam Hart (Catherine Keener), strain their relationship.  Speaking of strained relationships, Gretta’s acoustic stylings allude to her own issues in that regard.  She had come to New York City roughly a month previously, having arrived with Dave Kohl (Adam Levine), her boyfriend.  He is a musician that is being signed to a major recording and touring contract.  She has come from England with him, though she is more than just a pretty face on his arm.  They have collaborated on many of his songs, and he credits her with being the muse behind most of the rest of his work.  Not long after getting settled into the apartment provided by the label, he is called to Los Angeles to record some of the music.  Having little else to do, she looks up Steve.  This proves handy when Dave returns and plays for her some of what he has done.  She knows after a few seconds that he has not been true to her, forcing him to admit that he had slept with one of the label’s assistants.  Hence, Gretta finds her way to Steve’s apartment, and then he invites her to the open mic night seen at the beginning.  As Dan takes in the song, he begins imagining the accompanying instruments, envisioning a sound that Gretta has trouble recognizing.  He wants to bring this to reality, offering to record her, but she does not believe the line he gives her.  Besides, given her recent experiences with the music industry, she is not keen on having anything to do with it.  Nonetheless, in reflecting on his offer later that night, she realizes that it is something she could potentially make her own.  Thus, Gretta calls Dan the next morning, and they move forward.  Their next step is to take her to Saul, who notices her talent but does not feel he has enough to immediately offer a contract.  Undeterred, Dan comes up with an idea to make an entire album, laying all the tracks by playing the songs outside at different locations around the city, and letting the ambient noise be a part of the music.  The notion appeals to Gretta, who loves the more realistic way of doing things.  From here, to be honest, the movie begins to wander a bit, running out of things to do.  The creativity of making such an album has a restorative effect on Dan.  He stops drinking, and the bond that forms between him and Gretta (which, thankfully, never becomes sexual) shows him how to do better as a person.  Additionally, Gretta helps Violet with some of her fashion choices, eventually inviting the teenager to play the electric guitar on one of the songs.  As for Gretta, at one point her and Steve make a track that they send to Dave’s voicemail that explains in excruciatingly melodic detail how much he had messed up by cheating on her.  As such, when he finally comes back to New York following his tour, he asks that they meet to allow him to apologize.  Upon completing her album, she finally relents and they have lunch, exchanging their work since they have been apart.  When it comes to the song specifically written by her, she tries to be complimentary.  However, he insists on her honest opinion, which is that it sounds overproduced.  He insists that she come to his next show in town to hear it performed live, though she walks away non-committal.  In the meantime, Dan takes Gretta to see Saul, and the latter, as well as the rest of the board, are impressed with the product.  What derails the project is when the executives launch into legalese about how much money she will get out of the deal, leading to her walking away with Dan without a signed contract.  After this, she goes to Dave’s performance and stays for her song.  Before beginning, he tries to get her to come on stage to sing with him.  What stops her is seeing the throngs of adoring fans in front of him, many of whom are women.  It makes her realize that not only does she want a different life for herself, but that she will release her album online for $1, circumventing the music industry entirely.  Dan helps her do this on the eve of moving back in with his family, and the film ends.

With Dan returning to Miriam and Violet, that is him getting the chance to Begin Again.  The same could be said for Gretta, who is getting a fresh start without Dave and the life into which he had tried to draw her.  I suppose the film could have just as easily been called “New Beginnings,” though that might have been hitting matters too squarely on the nose.  What it importantly reminds us, even if it is not told from a faith perspective, is that nothing is truly so terrible that God is powerless to change.  St. Thomas More put it more succinctly, “There are no times so bad that a good man cannot live in them.”  Dan and Gretta each experience their share of bad times, and they do their bit of wallowing in them, Dan more so.  Then again, it is Miriam who had cheated on him, so this is understandable to a degree.  Given the day we see him have in the first part of the movie, we could expect anyone to do their level best to crawl inside a liquor bottle as he attempts to do.  It is in those moments that God acts, particularly if we know how to look for Him.  It may be something obvious, like seeing a talented musician, which leads to revitalizing your career and marriage.  It might be something else.  God speaks to each of us individually, and a major part of practicing the Faith is developing the senses to experience God in every aspect of our lives.  In doing so, we see that Faith can be demonstrated through music.  It is the biggest part of Dan’s life, so he already has the necessary tools any Christian needs for talking to God.  Again, this is not specific to the movie, but I am reacting to the scene in the bar when he first hears Gretta play.  His ability to insert the other instruments into her piece is a gift that few are able to experience.  I can assure you that God has something specific in mind for you if you give Him a chance.  If you have already and have not had the desired results, then do what the title suggests.

Overall, I was pleased with Begin Again.  As I said, it drags a little in the middle, but it has that independent movie flare, which goes well with the vibe of being about an independent record producer.  All the characters seem to make the right decisions, which is refreshing in a movie that is rated R, mainly for the language.  This one gets a solid recommendation.