John Carney has conquered the hearts of movie fans all over the world with the simple and pure “Once”. Starting Over” continues the “Once” story concept of “music changes life”, featuring music and the theme of finding oneself, telling a new inspirational story of freedom and passion.A good movie to listen to. As the “seventh art”, film is compatible with all other art disciplines, so those who turn to film directing in the middle of their career have the opportunity to use the art they are good at for their films, and if used properly, it can even become a major style of the director. John Carney is one such director, a bassist in a rock band, and his unique way of “embedding” music into the narrative (music directly forms part of the narrative, or even a major part) is the most distinctive feature of the film. The successful experiment in “Once” and again in “Begin Again”, this feature has become John Carney’s unique film style.
Unlike the simple plot of “Once” with only two main characters, “Begin Again” contains the main story line of lost singer-songwriter Gretta meeting Dan, a down-on-his-luck record producer, and the two of them collaborating to record an album outdoors; the secondary story line of the emotional changes between Gretta and her overnight singer boyfriend Dave; and the secondary story line of Dan rebuilding his relationship with his rebellious daughter. Music is “embedded” in the narrative of each line, and a popular pop song ties the story together. In terms of the main story, Gretta’s self-played song rekindles Dan’s passion for making music, and the two embark on an amazing musical journey that inspires each other. During the outdoor recording of the album’s songs, the disillusioned people gradually emerge from the gloom of their lives, regain their musical dreams and re-examine their relationships with those around them. Greta and Dave’s emotional changes are linked by three songs: Greta hears the “betrayal” in Dave’s new song and breaks up with him angrily; after drinking and healing, she composes a song about her lost love and accidentally wins back Dave’s heart; finally Dave sings the song written by Greta at the concert and tries to restore their love, but Because he deviated from Greta’s original interpretation (he was no longer the same person), she finally decided to give up the relationship. The song also “embeds” a secondary line of relationship reconstruction between Dan and his daughter. After repeated barriers to communication, Dan, at Greta’s suggestion, invites his daughter to participate as a guitarist on one of the album’s songs. In the process of collaboration, Dan discovers his daughter’s musical talent and re-enters her inner world.
The whole movie is a storytelling while singing rhythm, and the effect of music “embedded” in the narrative is addictive. In addition to the songs, the director has also set up many small props related to music to subtly drive the narrative. For example, the double jack cable control hanging on Dan’s car: Dan and his wife’s love began when they listened to songs together with this cable control; Dan and Greta’s sympathy, also in the two listened to songs together with this cable control in the set of shots of New York, was very smoothly expressed; finally Dan in Greta’s hint, using this cable control to win back his wife’s love.Good music. Like “Once”, “Starting Over” can be considered in a way a cinematic interpretation of a great pop album. Again, the main story line of the recorded album, unlike the documentary-style presentation of its predecessor, “Starting Over” clearly has more elaborate scene scheduling. Who can deny what a great idea it was to use the whole of New York as a recording studio! The drab streets of the Soho with hanging clotheslines, the subway stations with whirring trains, the open-air observation deck of the Empire State Building, the romantic boats on Central Park Lake, the director brings out the richness of New York in all its glory. In such a city full of possibilities, everyone has the freedom to pursue their ideals, the freedom to love or not to love, the freedom to share, and everyone has the opportunity to find their true selves, which alludes to the theme of the film.
While the recording scenes for the songs in “Once” are fresh and natural, the scenes for each song in “Starting Over” are free and passionate, and closely related to the development of the storyline. For example, in the song where Gretta and Dan meet in the bar, Dan hears Gretta’s slightly rudimentary playing and singing, and imagines in his mind the images and sound effects of the different instruments added to the soundtrack. The people around were not attracted by Greta’s song in any way, only Dan, who was a wise-cracking hero, was intoxicated and immersed in her song. This is a wonderful scene that gives the audience the full sense that the one-loss producer has been moved and saved by a simple song that speaks to the heart. Another scene is the recording of the song on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, where Greta invites Dan back to play bass, and Dan’s daughter, who has always had a communication problem, joins in on guitar, and the whole atmosphere is a musician’s improvisation show, passionate and moving. In this film, the director uses more of a feature film approach, giving the music a multi-layered visual effect and injecting it with a full emotional content.John Carney used his musical expertise to make up for his initial youthfulness in directing, and with a budget of only $150,000, he made a film called “Once” that is hard to replicate. Starting Over” allows audiences to witness his growth on the directorial path, and from every angle, it is a film full of passion and mature technique. If “Once” is a fresh and lilting ditty, “Begin Again” is a passionate and free concert, with a different tone, but still wonderful!