MovieChat Forums > Begin Again (2014) Discussion > Still wondering if it was wise

Still wondering if it was wise


to show Dave performing live at the end. The contrast in both ability and skill between him and Gretta became glaringly apparent and made me realize that having her around would've dragged him down. Yeah, they grew apart, but he made her look like an amateur, which she ultimately is.

I don't think that was Carney's intention. I'm thinking he was aiming on the side pure artistic expression as the take-away, but I couldn't help thinking about how mousy Gretta was as a performer and that she has risen to the full height of her incompetency (the Peter Principle at work).

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See posts
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/board/thread/232666521
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/board/thread/234641416

The posters summarized that scene well, in that Dave made a choice to stick with "pop" and Gretta just needed to stick with the more meaningful expression of songs. Both are equally valid, and I don't think the movie was pointing out one's superiority over the other. To be frank, I think most people would take the opposite view from you and see Gretta as the heroine over Dave's preference to please the crowd. In any case, hope this helps clarify things.

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That's not the issue. I think we pretty much got the sense where Dave was headed before that scene when he has Gretta listen to his popped up version of the song she wrote for him. Plus, he was turning LA way before that.

My observation is that his vocal range, his ability to command a crowd, his musicianship were light years beyond hers. Showing it just heightened the suspicion I had all along that Gretta wasn't all that musically talented. It took Mark Ruffalo's character's producing to squeeze out something listenable from her.

Did Adam Levine's "live" performance undermine Carney's thesis? I think it did and I don't think it was necessary.

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I didn't really get the sense that she was holding him back (or dragging him down). I felt that she just wasn't as serious about it as he was. She was content making music for herself. He wanted to be famous. She wrote one of his singles. So he obviously thought she was a talented song writer.

As for stage presence, he wanted to be famous and she was even shy about recording a youtube video. Plus she didn't want to go on stage early on in the film or when "Dave" wanted asked her to come sing the song she wrote later on. She even says in the car with "Dan" that she just makes music for herself (and her cat).

They are just different characters. I never got the feeling that the director did a disservice to Gretta by having Dave play.

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That is actually what is so deep and great about the film. When he can't help but transition from her version of the song to his it is actually his version that is the more moving version of the song. There is no "judgment" about it being more hollywood, less valid, etc. It is a version he connects to and we connect to and the crowd connects to. No one is cast as "wrong"; not him for his choice to co "commercial" or even in fact to pursue a new love. Not Ruffalo's wife for finding new love and leaving him for it, not his partner for making the choice to make his business about money not artistic expression. It is what gives the film such emotional depth. It STARTS out playing on the old cliches we expect; drunk absentee dad, egocentric rock star, sincere naive songwriter wed to her principles but it tells (and retells) the story until we realize it is about perspective. If you watched Levin'es performance without knowing the backstory you'd find the slow melodic build up followed by the fully arranged rendition highly moving. If you didn't know about Ruffalo's wife's infidelity and how it almost ruined his life you'd find their reconnection romantic. The movie was just about real people,losing themselves in real life and finding themselves in the same way, and along the way sharing the pain and joy of both. I still find the scene when Ruffalo's daughter turns out to be kick ass at guitar incredibly moving; you worry that Gretta has innocently set up a horrible scenario, yet it connects father and daughter and ultimately wife in a way nothing could have. Gretta intuits all of this by coercing Ruffalo to play the bass, and watching him connect with her WHILE he is playing vs standing around watching is awe inspiring. I think the writers did well to create a cast of complex characters without judgment for any of them and simply allow their choices to reveal the pain, joy and redemption available to all of us.

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You know, that's an interesting way to look at it and I think I missed it, even though I've seen the movie numerous times and never get tired of it.

It never hit me that Greta pushed Dan to play bass on the song as a way to make Violet feel more comfortable and also as a way to have them connect through the music... good catch!

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When he can't help but transition from her version of the song to his it is actually his version that is the more moving version of the song.


It's so interesting reading everyone's interpretations.

I loved it when he transitioned into his version of her song, but I didn't feel it was more moving; I thought hers was. His was certainly more dramatic -- the stage, the lights, and he belted it out. I agree it's how he connects to it, and obviously his audience did too, but in my opinion that's part of why he connects to it: because the audience does. He plays for the audience, while she plays for herself.

It is what gives the film such emotional depth. It STARTS out playing on the old cliches we expect; drunk absentee dad, egocentric rock star, sincere naive songwriter wed to her principles but it tells (and retells) the story until we realize it is about perspective.


I loved this part too, and the ending.

I still find the scene when Ruffalo's daughter turns out to be kick ass at guitar incredibly moving


I too find that scene to be very moving, and loved that the two of them played together. The only part about this I found difficult to believe (but love the film all the same) is when his wife said their daughter was awful on guitar. I could believe he hadn't been around enough to know, but surely his wife was.

I also loved it when Ruffalo's character got the idea to video and record Gretta all around NY, and incorporated elements from the environment, like the children, who were first just an annoyance. I find that kind of creativity inspiring.

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My interpretation from that scene was that Dave went 110% pop and sold out while Gretta remained true to her artistic integrity and showing up at his show was a farewell to him and his new world. I also loved the scene of her riding her bike into the night with a fresh perspective and excitingly unknown future.

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I interpret the scene that Dave was a sell out to the music industry whereas Greta wanted her songs wanted to have purpose and meaning rather than just selling music. I guess Greta realized Dave would just f o whatever people told him.

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I think mikey's post above -- "I don't think the movie was pointing out one's superiority over the other" -- is spot on. This well made fairy tale had an ending that was surprisingly cogent and satisfying. Dave's performance is the musical high point of the film, and the viewer cannot deny it, yet you readily appreciate the integrity of Greta leaving his concert and not returning to him without bitterness.

Life is a state of mind.

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So well said. The movie was not about judgment it was about choices. She didn't leave Dave at the end because he was an a-hole or sell-out or because his performance sucked. It was amazing. She left because it wasn't about her or the right choice for her.

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"Still wondering if it was wise"
What, idiot?

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My thoughts on that scene are so completely oposite that its even funny :) I felt, that huge difference between them (Dave and Greta as musicians), but for me Dave just seemed so artificial and "pop" (in a bad way) it just became clear, that Greta, who is so natural and true, could not posibly be with him anymore, they just could not understand each other.

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I agree. Daves music is horribly generic and Gretas more open and free. Dave is a rock star Greta is an artist. Only true music people could understand this.

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