#49 BEGIN AGAIN

#49 BEGIN AGAIN
Starring Kiera Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener and James Cordon.

Written and Directed by John Carney. 105 minutes.

When British singer song writer Kiera Knightley gets dumped by boyfriend, rising rock star, Adam Levine in New York she ends her final night in the big apple hanging out with fellow Brit and chum, James Cordon in a local bar during open night mic where's she's discovered by A&R man, Mark Ruffalo who drunkenly offers her a record deal and the rest is Begin Again. Together these two lost souls (he's a divorced, out of work, washed-up, border-line alcoholic - trying to reconnect with his ex-wife and daughter, she's the jilted, devoted, staggeringly gifted singer-song-writer ex-girlfriend) might just save each other! Ruffalo takes Knightley under his wing and sets out to record her demo album, using the streets of New York as their recording studio and the limitless funds of Cee Lo Green's rap star friend to finance the whole deal. Then it's a whistle stop tour of New York with a hip, folksy soundtrack and some mild relationship issues to give the whole thing a bit of bite.

Ultimately this all comes down to whether or not you like Kiera Knightly, if you find her gaunt, huge-doe-eyed, twitchy face insanely annoying then this film won't win you over. However, if you can get past the twitch, then this sweet-natured, New York based fairy tale might be for you, not a rom-com, more a frien-com. This is a feel-good fairytale with a good cast and some nice music. What's nice is, this isn't about a burgeoning love affair between the two leads, more their blooming friendship.

Hard to hate, it'll leave you feeling cosy and warm.

8/10