From the title, I honestly thought it might be another movie about relocating three states away from your ex and finding new hope in the arms of a savior-lover.
Dan (Mark Ruffalo) and Greta (Keira Knightley) actually do begin again but in a way a little different than that. I could actually relate to the music producer and songwriter in two ways.
First, they show that your hopeful savior may (or may not be) your new romantic interest. That’s to say, after your catastrophic life moment, your source of new inspiration doesn’t necessarily have to be your new soul mate.
Something like that happened when I had to leave the seminary where I was studying to be a Catholic priest and began transitioning into lay life. It was a Begin Again experience of its own kind. However, I didn’t find my new driving life inspiration in a new relationship. I received my inspiration from people who had no interest in holding my hand in the park.
Secondly, I saw from the film that “begin again” doesn’t mean we have to demolish the past to build a new future. Sometimes that old foundation – job, relationship, passionate pastime – just needs a little rehabbing and you can start building a new life on it. Both Dan and Greta stay in touch with their past and develop it in a way I didn’t expect to happen.
The day after I left seminary I myself wondered, “How much of my old life do I try to salvage?” Over that fifteen-year monastic period I had acquired a considerable amount of training, friendships, talents and skills. Does “begin again” mean tossing it aside and starting from scratch? Initially, I brought very little of my past with me. For years, my new colleagues in the professional world had no idea that I had been a seminarian. With time, however, I began using the skills I had learned in my past to succeed in the present. I eventually even built my business on those abilities.
Like any screen production, I couldn’t relate to absolutely everything. Mark Ruffalo’s ability to begin a life-altering business deal and friendship while ¾ drunk in a bar was something of a wow. The only things alcohol and bars have gotten me are a good laugh and then maybe another good laugh. I don’t think movies are meant to be perfect reflections of reality though. They just help us get through reality.
All things considered, I would see “Begin Again”, well…again.
