Beginners
Directed by Mike Mills
- drama
- romance
- comedy
The story
Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.
What it’s like
Warm, unhurried and softly melancholic, with sunlit interiors of an older house, cluttered with objects and faded photographs, and the cool blues and greys of Los Angeles streets at dusk. Mike Mills frames many scenes in still, measured compositions, letting handheld moments and sudden intertitles, sketched drawings and a jumpy, scrapbook editing rhythm break up the calm, so the film feels like someone leafing through a family album while trying to make sense of it. Christopher Plummer's late-life joy and Ewan McGregor's guarded, pensive restraint carry much of the feeling, and a gentle, folk-tinged score sits quietly under the dialogue. Its vibe is bittersweet and tender, with a wry sense of humour that keeps grief from sinking into heaviness, suited to a rainy Sunday or a reflective evening alone. The arcs centre on a grieving son learning to loosen up, and a father finally living out who he is late in life. Violence is absent; sexuality appears frankly but not explicitly, and illness and death are present in quiet, realistic detail. Made for viewers who enjoy character-driven, humane drama about fathers, sons, late-life change and the messy work of love.
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