A few months after his mother dies Oliver (Ewan McGregor) receives some shocking news. His father, who already is in his seventies tells him that he’s gay. It is news which he has a hard time dealing with as his parents were married for a long time and he never thought that his father was having different feelings. At the same time his father is diagnosed with a cancer. His father decides to fully enjoy the last moments in his life, while Oliver tries to do some soul searching to explain some of his issues.
Oliver has been alone for a long time as he has trouble keeping relationships going. The movie is told through a lot of flashbacks. The thing I especially loved was the way in which a feel of a specific year was given through pictures (what the sun looked like that year, what people looked like, the president that year etc.). These kind of techniques give the movie a unique feel. That feel also continues in other things. A small example is when Olvier meets the actress Anna (Melanie Laurent) who communicates through notes as she has (temporary) trouble with her voice.
Beginners is a movie which has a couple of very interesting characters, without too much happening. Because of that I’m pretty sure it’s a movie not everyone will like. Personally it was the style which made me enjoy it. It has a lot of drama even though it doesn’t feel depressing. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer are fantastic, in which Plummer convinces as someone that wants to make the most out of every opportunity. It took me a while before I recognised Melanie Laurent, but many will remember her from Inglorious Basterds. If you like character studies than Beginners is a very interesting movie.
Score: 7
Trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUFUp6vsxg]
‘Death By Quirky’ is how I summed this one up. I wasn’t greatly impressed, in truth (I gave it a 6, I think), mainly because I found that I didn’t care much for any of the people in it. Plummer’s dad figure lived a lie that affected everyone around him (they would more than likely have been much happier had he outed himself years before) and so I’m afraid I didn’t have much sympathy for him.
But do characters always have to be sympathetic to make something a good movie? Or didn’t you care for any of the characters? Of course this movie deals with that issue of a lie through McGregor’s character.
It looks like a very interesting movie! I’ll give a try on DVD! Great review!
Thanks a lot and I hope you will like it.
I loved this movie and gave it a 4.5/5. One of my favorites this year. It made me cry a lot, but in the end, it’s not totally depressing. I too loved those little stylish documentary style descriptions of the years. The only thing in it I didn’t love wholeheartedly was his gf. She felt a little bit “too perfect”. Or perhaps I was only envious. 😉
That is a strong connection, not many movies make me cry or tear up, but I did care for these characters. I didn’t think his girlfriend was too perfect, she had issues as well because of her work and her father.
Plummer will always be Capt. Von Trapp to me, but I’m curious about this one. The cast is pretty darn good, too.
Hahaha, well I must admit that I never saw The Sound of Music, so I didn’t have that connection to Plummer 🙂 The cast is very good and this really feels like a small, very personal movie.
I saw this trailer and was curious mainly for MacGregor’s sake. I may give this one a look as a rental. but prob not more than that. I have to agree with Ruth…Plummer will always be Capt. von Trapp to me too.
It’s a good rental movie, the big screen doesn’t add much.
I think this is my favourite film this year so far (though Drive is pushing it). I really loved the relationship between Ewan and Melanie (who I thought was gorgeous). You are absolutely right that despite the subject matter of the film it is quite funny. I admit that I had forgotten that each year was identified by pictures.
Actually, to me Christopher Plummer will always be Reverend Jonathan Whirley from Dragnet, I’ve never seen the Sound of Music.
Funny that usually the first role you see an actor in sticks with you. For some actors it’s harder to shake that image.
Heard some great things about this but at the time, I already had my fair share of driving to the indie theater to see The Tree of Life and Midnight in Paris so I skipped it. Looking forward to renting it though.
I can imagine that if you have to drive a lot to see a movie and have done so a couple of times that you skip some. Then again it’s not always see movies at the cinema and sometimes just wait for them for watching in your own comfortable home! 🙂
I also was going to check this out at my local theater when it was around and missed it. I would like to visit this when it comes out on DVD/BD. I don’t do it all the time myself, but it’d be cool if you could add release dates to some these reviews or where we can find them. Thanks for the review.
I really don’t keep track of release dates myself and as they are very different in various countries it would be hard to include that.