I'm puzzled: why did this low-key but charming film by the "Once" creator never become the hit it deserved to be? I kept waiting for it to gain the public-popularity momentum it needed to become a big box-office success. If you didn't see it at the theater, make sure you watch it on DVD - especially if you loved "Once." Writer-director John Carney makes New York City as much of a character as the story's leads - Keira Knightley as a shy songwriter abandoned by her on-the-rise-as-a-singer boyfriend (Adam Levine) and Mark Ruffalo as an on-the-skids producer. Ruffalo sees potential in her work and, in a way, is seeking redemption for himself. Two of the scenes are particularly imaginative and transporting: Knightley and Ruffalo walking around the city at night, listening on separate headsets to the same music, and Knightley's band recording on the streets of NYC.

- KRISTINA DORSEY