Movies

Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) is depressed after the death of his father Hal (Christopher Plummer). He meets a fascinating lovely woman Anna (Mélanie Laurent) and falls head over heels. He recalls how after the death of his mother Georgia (Mary Page Keller), his father reveals that he was gay all along. And he wants to do something about it before it's too late.Writer/director Mike Mills has brought a lovely sweet little movie. There are subtle little jokes and a dog with his own subtitles. The romance is beautiful, Ewan McGregor delivers depressed without being depressing. I guess the 'talking' dog helped out. Christopher Plummer doesn't give a gay stereotype performance. He's gay and you can see the joy in his acting. All the performances are first rate.

For a film with such a haunting and depressing scenario, 'Beginners' is a surprisingly powerful and perceptive piece of cinema. When I first read the synopsis, I was a bit doubtful about the concept and was uncertain as to whether it was worth a watch, however after learning that the film was partially autobiographical and based on the life of writer-director Mike Mills, I decided to give it a try, convinced by the inspiration of Mills' first-person experiences. 'Beginners' blends comedy and romance against a dramatic backdrop in order to create a charming and character-driven story. In my opinion, it is Christopher Plummer's Oscar-winning performance that really sells the picture accompanied by some assuring performances from Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent. 'Beginners' is a powerfully understated piece of independent filmmaking that maintains it's emotional resonance from start to finish.

Ewan McGregor and the lovely Melanie Laurent play two morose people who have no faith in the existence of love or relationships that can actually work and yet nevertheless decide to give it a try with each other.The film has some modest charms to recommend it, but it's ultimately too gloomy for its own good. The characters played by McGregor and Laurent are so vaguely mopey that I found myself not caring all that much whether or not they found happiness in each other -- or even happiness at all. I just wanted to find happier people to hang out with.Christopher Plummer received much acclaim, and an Oscar by the time I got around to writing this comment, as McGregor's dad, who comes out of the closet and then dies of cancer, not helping much to dispel his son's gloom.Grade: B-