Beginners

I want everyone to go out and watch this movie now. Honestly, this film is so powerful and moving and certainly far removed from anything I was expecting that mere words cannot convey how much I truly do adore this film. From a purely emotional standpoint, it may be the finest film I've seen this year for it brought me to a place I haven't been in a long time; completely swelled within my own realities captured by someone and something else entirely.`Beginners' is beautiful.`Beginners' tells the story of Oliver. Oliver is not a very lucky lover. He hasn't had a stable relationship and quite frankly, he seems allergic to them. His father has recently died, and he lives in a world consumed in beginning to understand who his father really was. Shortly after his mother's passing, Oliver's father Hal came out of the closet. Hal has been gay his whole life and yet he loved his wife and she wanted to `fix him', convinced that her love could do the trick. He lived a heterosexual life with her, but now that she was gone he wanted to explore the life he kept locked away for so long. This obviously took Oliver by surprise, but watching his father's eyes brighten and his soul open up he became to understand a sense of happiness he had never seen in his years growing up. After losing his father, Oliver has a chance meeting with the beautiful Anna. While he at first seems resistant, her charm and allure is too much for him, and soon Oliver finds himself experiencing something he didn't understand, but through memories of his father's growing spirit, Oliver is able to accept the gift he has been given.I'm just floored at the sincerity in this film's screenplay, for the way it fleshes out these characters is just amazing. Oliver is sullen and lost yet completely consumed with this young woman who offers an answer to his apathetic sadness. Ewan McGregor is outstanding in the role; finding such depth of emotion in those eyes. Christopher Plummer is on his way to winning an Oscar, and rightfully so. He delivers a fearless performance, one that is not only brave because of subject (is it really brave to play gay nowadays?) but because of the way he just jumps right in. He builds a believable and grounded older man who is ecstatic to finally be living his life, even though he's at the end of it. But, for me, this film was all about Melanie Laurent. Her performance as Anna was so delightful, so soulful and full of sensual allure. She played with McGregor with such flawless chemistry, and yet she understood the importance of driving it home when needed; and her breakdown after moving in with Oliver was so magically believable...so soft and understated in all the right ways.The beauty of `Beginners' comes from the way that it conveys its message with subtle touches and a real sense of being. The idea that we can learn so much from our parents is a strong guiding light here. Our parents help form who we become, whether in a good or bad way, but sometimes we miss out by disregarding their actions as not influential. Hal's decision to be open with himself and those around him affected Oliver in ways unexpected, but their impact was revolutionary. `Beginners' is, above all else, an ode to that bond between father and son; and yet there is more here that makes it even deeper and more effecting to those of us not sincerely attached to that aspect of the prose. The fact that new beginnings are possible to those who make them is a compelling argument made here as well. A friend of mine likes to use the phrase, "it's not how you start but how you finish" and I find that truth to be made so eminent in this beautiful film.To call this a masterpiece is truly a subjective thought, since a large part of why I adore this film is for personal reasons, but from an emotional perspective, `Beginners' gets everything right.

This movie stuck with an old writing adage, "Show don't tell." Oliver, his father, and Oliver's girlfriend are all beginners at trying to get life right for themselves. Unique individuals with unique needs. There's no cute-meet. The relationships are tangentially romantic and, more importantly, profoundly meaningful and deep. I love the ending. Spoiler Alert!!! Oliver and girlfriend realize they don't know how they will feel in their relationship, but they are willing to give it a try. They are Beginners.One observation I would make about the father is, he actually informed about himself and knew he was gay, so did his wife. Oliver is the one who suffers the most in the situation because he's the result of a dishonest relationship and an oppressive home environment. He was precocious and able to tune in to his parent's lack of connection. He essentially grows up in a lie. There's no real emotional attachment among anyone in Oliver's family, so, he has no model to work from. No knowledge of what it is to give or receive love or a sense of belonging, attachment. The same is true with Oliver's girlfriend. Being the only confidant of a parent's darkest thoughts and feelings is emotionally damaging to a child. She too was robbed of a childhood. That's why the ending for Oliver and his girlfriend, is so sweet. They both know, without saying it, that they're willing to figure it (attachment and relationship) out.It is a quiet, honest movie about the human need for attachment and validation. As a parent, I have to say that's much easier said than done.Just watch the movie.

When do we stop being our true self-- and why? And when, and why, after so many years, do we begin to be our true self again? These questions are asked and answered in Mike Mills' autobiographical film "Beginners." Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor;, playing a film variation of Mills himself) is a graphic designer who can't seem to communicate his feelings or maintain a long-term emotional relationship. Oliver, though not verbally expressive or emotionally demonstrative, does express his emotions through graphic design and illustration. The movie flashes back into the past and flashes forward again into the present or more recent past. As we see Oliver's relationship with his parents, we see how he became so emotionally conditioned. His parents endured a distant 45 year marriage, in an environment where emotions and secrets were never revealed. After his mother's (Mary Page Keller) death, his 75 year old father Hal (Christopher Plummer; "Hamlet," "The Sound Of Music", "Inside Man") finally comes out of the closet as a gay man. "And I don't want to be just theoretically gay," he says, "I want to do something about it." And, in the final years of his life, Hal embraces his life with gusto and passion ; becoming an active member of the gay community and having a loving relationship with a much younger man (Goran Visnjig). In the last years of his life, Hal finally begins to be his true self, and Oliver finally begins to know and love the father that he never knew before. In the end, Hal refuses to acknowledge the cancer that will end the life he has just begun to live. In the present day, inspired by his father's example, Oliver decides to embark upon a relationship with the beguiling and seemingly free-spirited Anna (Melanie Laurent). Interestingly, in a movie filled with characters who can't communicate on one level or another, when Oliver and Anna first meet, she has laringytis and, therefore, cannot speak. Turns out, Anna also has issues concerning her distant father. In a sweet touch, an adorable dog named Arthur serves as the emotional connection between all the characters, past and present, dead or alive, here. Christopher Plummer's deservedly award-winning performance is a subtle but wonderful revelation. You can see the twinkle in his eyes, you can feel his joy, when he finally embraces his true self. In many ways, Oliver is just as full of child-like wonder and astonishment in his relationship with Anna as his father was when he came out of the closet. I am thrilled that Plummer received awards, but I wish Ewan McGregor's equally heartfelt performance and Mike Mills' beautiful screenplay, had also received the same recognition. But, regardless of awards, "Beginners" is a warm and human film; to be cherished.

Perhaps it depends on your frame of mind when you watch this film but I would say that it's the most tender love story I've ever seen. All of the actors are so believable its like watching something real unfold before your eyes. I hadn't realised it's based on real events of the writer/directors life. As there are already lots of reviews of the plot I won't repeat those but I would say that as well as being deeply moved by this film (which is billed as being partly a comedy but is mostly bitter sweet)I really enjoyed the directors commentary and it helped me understand things I didn't get first time I watched this. As a result of that I watched it again the next evening and understood so much more. Another thing I loved was the way it's been filmed, often with very little in the way of artificial light and so therefore very natural. (don't try watching this in the day time unless you don't mind closing the curtains because it's hard to see). If you are looking for deep emotions watch this but have the tissues ready. I am now a big fan of Ewan McGregor and I loved the relationship with his 'father' Christopher Plummer.

I thought it was going to be a very different film. It's down as a comedy, it did have some of that,but when Christopher Plummer died, it was anything but a comedy. The main part of the film dealt withEwan McGregor and his girlfriend, with it's off and on relationship. It was like watching 2 different filmsat times. Would I watch it again, yes for the Christopher Plummer parts, but Ewan McG, no. Maybeit's me but Ewan McG, at times I don't get at all, he seems to be in films that in many ways quite downers.

Although easy sometimes (the homosexuality of the father is a captivating way to tal about loss and rediscovery of a parent without getting to much on depth, but focusing all on this side of the matter and his personality) it is a very nice film with a gentle, wellmatched and interesting cast: 3 nice faces with some shades of dark and grey and blue that make their characters not just simple figures

I saw Beginners after a bereavement and though it was a strong experience to see something like this it was healing....Plummer is suave and vulnerable and does his part...Ewan McGregor continues to enthrall and please....love the new girl..their romance, including the Plummer gay romance is the stuff of modern love and is refreshing....love the job Ewan does ....simply profound !

I BOUGHT THIS AS A CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER FAN BUT WAS NOT IMPRESSED IN FACT I WAS BORED STIFF