# Begin Again (film)
**Begin Again** is a 2013 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney, originally titled *Can a Song Save Your Life?*[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/). It stars [Keira Knightley](https://www.edgepedia.org/keira-knightley) as Gretta, a singer-songwriter abandoned in New York by her newly famous boyfriend, and [Mark Ruffalo](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-ruffalo) as Dan, a disgraced record producer who discovers her performing in a club and convinces her to make an album with him[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013). The film premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) in 2013, was picked up by The Weinstein Company after a bidding war, and reached wide release in the United States on July 2, 2014[3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013). Its song "Lost Stars" received an Academy Award nomination[4](https://time.com/3717295/oscars-2015-adam-levine-lost-stars-begin-again/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title history | Premiered as *Can a Song Save Your Life?*; renamed *Begin Again* after Toronto[3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/) • [5](https://insights.uca.org.au/articles/begin-again/) |
| Principal cast | Keira Knightley (Gretta), Mark Ruffalo (Dan), Adam Levine (Dave), Hailee Steinfeld (Violet), Catherine Keener (Miriam)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013) |
| Release | TIFF 2013 premiere; wide US release July 2, 2014, distributed by The Weinstein Company; R rating; 1h 44m[3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013) |
| Budget and box office | Budget about $9 (€8.3) million; US gross $16.2 million[6](https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/72311/Great_Pretenders.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013) |
| Reception | 83% on the Tomatometer from 167 reviews; 81% audience score[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013) |
| Awards | "Lost Stars" nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song; performed by Adam Levine and Maroon 5 at the 2015 Oscars[4](https://time.com/3717295/oscars-2015-adam-levine-lost-stars-begin-again/) |
| Stage adaptation | A stage musical with music and lyrics by Pat Monahan and Train opened in a world premiere at The Old Globe, San Diego, in 2026[7](https://www.theoldglobe.org/news--media/latest-news/press-release-page/2026/begin-again-extension/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Gretta (Keira Knightley) comes to New York as the songwriter behind her boyfriend Dave ([Adam Levine](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-levine)), whose featured song on a movie soundtrack brings him a major-label deal. Left on her own after Dave gives in to the temptations of his newfound success, she is discovered by Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a once-great record executive who has produced nothing in seven years, during an open-mike performance on her last night in town[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013) • [8](https://www.independent.com/2014/07/09/review-begin-again/). Dan, hearing an entire arrangement where others hear a simple acoustic performance, convinces Gretta to stay in New York for the summer and record her album[8](https://www.independent.com/2014/07/09/review-begin-again/) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/begin-again-review-a-keira-knightley-musical-that-misses-too-many-notes/2014/07/01/35fbfc10-012b-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html).
When Dan cannot persuade his former business partner Saul (Yasiin Bey, also known as [Mos Def](https://www.edgepedia.org/mos-def)) to sign Gretta, the two go the do-it-yourself route, recruiting session musicians and music students and recording the album across the city, with each song captured in a different outdoor location so that the sounds of New York, from sirens to car horns, become part of the music[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/begin-again-review-a-keira-knightley-musical-that-misses-too-many-notes/2014/07/01/35fbfc10-012b-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html) • [10](https://archive.nerdist.com/review-begin-again/?list=trending). Gretta's rift with Dave sharpens around the song "Lost Stars," a love ballad she wrote for him as a Christmas present, which he records in a heavily commercialized form that she feels drains its meaning[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/plotsummary/). Critics have noted that the central relationship between Gretta and Dan remains a friendship and creative partnership rather than a romance; Time Out's Cath Clarke wrote that what makes the film special is that "it's not another romance about finding a man" but about finding your people[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013).
## Development and production
Carney began writing the film in 2010, after the success of his 2007 film *Once*, which won the [Academy Award for Best Original Song](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-original-song) for "Falling Slowly" and was adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical[12](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/begin-writer-director-john-carney-importance-music-film-12827/) • [13](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6234e8b7aacc0141c3c4512e/t/661d82a90c685a7ea044d1c5/1713210025967/Once%2BStudy%2BGuide.pdf). He pitched the storyline, then titled *Can a Song Save Your Life?*, to producer [Judd Apatow](https://www.edgepedia.org/judd-apatow), who asked him to expand it to feature length; Apatow produced through Apatow Productions with Anthony Bregman of Likely Story and Tobin Armbrust of Exclusive Media, and most of the roughly $9 million budget was secured from that partnership[6](https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/72311/Great_Pretenders.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1). After about a year of pre-production, shooting began in New York City on June 29, 2012, just days after the Broadway version of *Once* collected eight [Tony Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-awards)[6](https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/72311/Great_Pretenders.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1).
The character of Dan drew on Carney's teenage memories of the A&R men, the talent scouts of artists-and-repertoire departments, who flooded Ireland looking for the next U2, staying in swanky hotel rooms with no-limit credit cards; he imagined what such a man's life would look like years later, when the money had run out and the way of discovering bands had changed[12](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/begin-writer-director-john-carney-importance-music-film-12827/) • [3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/). Mark Ruffalo was attached from an early draft, and Carney has said he had to talk him into the part. [Scarlett Johansson](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlett-johansson) was in talks to play the female lead for a time, but the role eventually went to Keira Knightley, whom Carney met in London and cast partly to play an [Audrey Hepburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/audrey-hepburn)-like contrast against Ruffalo's disheveled character[3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/). Adam Levine, the [Maroon 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/maroon-5) frontman, made his film debut as Dave[14](https://www.eonline.com/news/526407/adam-levine-makes-his-movie-debut-in-begin-again-watch-the-trailer).
Carney deliberately kept the street-level shooting style of *Once*, with a small unit moving through New York even as paparazzi followed the movie stars. He said that shooting with actual movie stars in a big city made the *Once* approach harder but that he wanted to bring that style and approach to *Begin Again* all the same[3](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/).
## Music
The original songs were written largely by [Gregg Alexander](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregg-alexander) of the [New Radicals](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-radicals), working with a series of collaborators[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/begin-again-review-a-keira-knightley-musical-that-misses-too-many-notes/2014/07/01/35fbfc10-012b-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html). The songs sit in a pop-rock vein, in contrast to the acoustic ballads of *Once*[15](https://skonmovies.ca/review/my-thoughts-on-begin-again/).
"Lost Stars," performed in the film by both Levine and Knightley, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Levine brought Maroon 5 to the 2015 Academy Awards to perform it[4](https://time.com/3717295/oscars-2015-adam-levine-lost-stars-begin-again/). Knightley, who is an actress rather than a professional singer, prepared with vocal lessons from the coach Roger Love, and many songs' lyrics were not finalized until a few days before the studio sessions[16](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/keira-knightley-mark-ruffalo-adam-levine-begin-again-interview). Ruffalo recorded a sung passage for the film, staged as a private performance, that was cut after the song's rights could not be cleared[16](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/keira-knightley-mark-ruffalo-adam-levine-begin-again-interview).
## Reception and comparison with Once
The film holds an 83% Tomatometer score from 167 reviews and an 81% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus says that Carney's "return to musical drama isn't quite as potent as it was with *Once*, but thanks to charming work from its well-matched leads, *Begin Again* is difficult to resist"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013). Reviews divided along a consistent line: praise for the performances, warmth, and the depiction of creative collaboration, alongside the judgment that the film does not reach *Once*. Ann Hornaday in *The Washington Post* found the songs coming off as "twee, wispy and instantly forgettable" while praising Knightley, Ruffalo, and the supporting cast, including [James Corden](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-corden) and a cameo from Cee Lo Green[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/begin-again-review-a-keira-knightley-musical-that-misses-too-many-notes/2014/07/01/35fbfc10-012b-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html). Other reviewers called it a glossy, more Hollywood version of *Once*, or described it as "a variation of *A Star Is Born*" and "an optimistic, kind, luminous... humanist fable about second chances"[5](https://insights.uca.org.au/articles/begin-again/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013).
The parallel with *Once* is close enough that scholars have discussed the film as essentially a disguised remake: *Begin Again*'s promotional campaign avoided presenting it as a remake of *Once*, instead positioning it as a new musical by John Carney, a Keira Knightley vehicle, or a romantic comedy[6](https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/72311/Great_Pretenders.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1). Carney himself framed the film as a meditation on sudden fame, noting that its premise, in which a songwriter is left behind when her partner's career takes off, echoed his own experience after *Once*[17](https://time.com/2930722/begin-again-and-once-share-more-than-a-filmmaker/).
## Stage musical
In 2026, *Begin Again* returned as a stage musical in its world premiere at The Old Globe theater in San Diego, with music and lyrics by [Pat Monahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/pat-monahan) and the band Train, whose members Jerry Becker and Matt Musty have won Grammy Awards for "Drops of Jupiter" and "Hey Soul Sister"; a book by Jenna Clark Embrey and Molly Beach Murphy; music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Brian Usifer; choreography by David Neumann; and direction by Lorin Latarro[7](https://www.theoldglobe.org/news--media/latest-news/press-release-page/2026/begin-again-extension/). Critics reviewing the production scored it 73/100 across six reviews, calling it a heartfelt if familiar crowd-pleaser whose music-making scenes compensate for a well-worn redemption story[18](https://broadwayscorecard.com/show/begin-again-regional-2026).
## References
1. [Begin Again (2013), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/)
2. [Begin Again (2013), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/begin_again_2013)
3. [Why 'Begin Again' Director John Carney Relished Conflict Between Adam Levine and Keira Knightley, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/begin-again-keira-knightley-adam-levine-mark-ruffalo-john-carney/)
4. [Watch Adam Levine and Maroon 5 Perform "Lost Stars" at the Oscars, TIME](https://time.com/3717295/oscars-2015-adam-levine-lost-stars-begin-again/)
5. [Begin Again, Insights Magazine (Uniting Church Australia)](https://insights.uca.org.au/articles/begin-again/)
6. [Begin Again (2013): The Remake That Pretended It Wasn't a Remake, University of Oviedo repository](https://digibuo.uniovi.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10651/72311/Great_Pretenders.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
7. [Begin Again Extension, The Old Globe](https://www.theoldglobe.org/news--media/latest-news/press-release-page/2026/begin-again-extension/)
8. [Review: Begin Again, The Santa Barbara Independent](https://www.independent.com/2014/07/09/review-begin-again/)
9. ['Begin Again': A Keira Knightley musical that misses too many notes, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/begin-again-review-a-keira-knightley-musical-that-misses-too-many-notes/2014/07/01/35fbfc10-012b-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html)
10. [Review: Begin Again, Nerdist](https://archive.nerdist.com/review-begin-again/?list=trending)
11. [Begin Again (2013) Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/plotsummary/)
12. ['Begin Again' Writer-Director John Carney on the Importance of Music in Film, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/begin-writer-director-john-carney-importance-music-film-12827/)
13. [Once: The Movie Before the Musical, study guide](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6234e8b7aacc0141c3c4512e/t/661d82a90c685a7ea044d1c5/1713210025967/Once%2BStudy%2BGuide.pdf)
14. [Adam Levine Makes His Movie Debut in Begin Again, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news/526407/adam-levine-makes-his-movie-debut-in-begin-again-watch-the-trailer)
15. [Begin Again Review, Sean Kelly On Movies](https://skonmovies.ca/review/my-thoughts-on-begin-again/)
16. [Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine Begin Again Interview, CineMovie](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/keira-knightley-mark-ruffalo-adam-levine-begin-again-interview)
17. [Begin Again and Once Share More Than a Filmmaker, TIME](https://time.com/2930722/begin-again-and-once-share-more-than-a-filmmaker/)
18. [Begin Again Reviews: Worth Seeing 73/100, Broadway Scorecard](https://broadwayscorecard.com/show/begin-again-regional-2026)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Musical and music films (individual works) › Musical films of the 2010s and 2020s › Released 2010 to 2020*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license