Begin Again (15A) ****
Once director and creator John Carney is returning to his musical roots with this endearing romance set in the Big Apple.
Carney - who used to play bass guitar for The Frames before turning his hand to filmmaking - has given us a slight but charming romance that manages to dodge the usual pitfalls of this genre.
He’s also coaxed a lovely performance out of British actress Keira Knightley, who proves herself a decent warbler as a young indie musician who dreams of her music being heard, but has little interest in fame.
She plays Gretta, a young singer/songwriter who travels to New York with her boyfriend, Dave (Girls’ Adam Levine) who has just landed himself a major record deal.
But when circumstances go disastrously wrong, she ends up on the sofa of her busker friend (a very good James Corden) and is persuaded to perform at a low-key gig.
Very drunk and standing in the audience, Dan (Mark Ruffalo) is entranced. He’s the former head of a record company and music scout whose heavy drinking and chaotic lifestyle have cost him his job and his marriage.
It all unfolds with a likeability and lack of the type of mawkishness that you get so often with films of this style.
And if you love New York it’s an absolute treat on the big screen, with some of the city’s earthy and less glamorous districts vying for space with the more iconic ones. Carney and his crew have a huge affection for the city, and it shows - it almost feels like a character in the film.
Boyhood
With movies like Dazed and Confused and the Before Sunrise/Sunset movies to his credit, US director Richard Linklater has long been credited with telling stories in a unique way.
Boyhood (15A) is being described as his most special yet. It marks a huge commitment from the filmmaker as it was made over a 12-year period featuring the same cast.
The film follows Texan boy Mason (played by newcomer Ellar Coltrane) from the age of seven as he goes through the carefree years of childhood before embarking on the socially awkward years of puberty and the beginning of his adult life.
The movie looks at his testy relationship with his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and his efforts to adapt to the demands of his divorced parents Mason and Olivia, played by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette in the film.
What emerges is an ambitious but highly praised project that encapsulates a boy’s life. It’s all set against the changing pop cultures of the time and is set in the US as it approaches the end of the George W Bush era. The movie is now on release in selected cinemas.
