Imagine what it must be like. To live your entire life under a veil. To never be allowed to be yourself, shamed to secrecy by a society that would never understand you, wants to hate you, and would prefer you didn't exist. Imagine your entire life as one big lie. In Beginners, a remarkably poignant new film from Mike Mills(Thumbsucker
), Christopher Plummer gives an Oscar worthy performance as Hal, a man who was married to his wife for over 40 years. Throughout their entire marriage, he knew he was gay, but never revealed it. They had a son, Oliver(Ewan McGregor at his absolute best), and still he said nothing. At the age of 75, after his wife passes away from cancer, Hal finally found the confidence to come out and be free...for four years until he himself died of the same disease. Doesn't sound like the set up for your typical adult comedy, does it? That's precisely the reason why Beginners works.The story is really about Oliver, who's life has been stuck for the better part of his adult life. He can't hold on to any relationships with women. The death of his mother, a vibrant and intelligent woman with no care for social graces, left him alone and empty. He couldn't really lean on his father, who in his final years threw himself into his long suppressed homosexual lifestyle with gusto. The cancer diagnosis only served to keep Oliver at bay even more. After Hal's death, Oliver inherits his dog, a lovable little Jack Russell named Arthur who may or may not have telepathic abilities. He also tries to move on past all the pain and reflection by entering a new relationship with Anna(Melanie Laurent), a woman he meets at a party and proceeds to baffle him.
You keep waiting for Beginners to get just a little too quirky for it's own good, and it very nearly does on more than one occasion. Anna and Oliver meet at a costume party where he's dressed as Freud and the two engage in a one-sided mock session. She's stricken with laryngitis so the first few days they're unable to hold a real conversation, with her writing questions for him to answer. Arthur is often the most insightful one in the room, making simple observations that have flown over everyone else's heads. So there is quirk, and the film is undeniably cute, but it's also very painful and emotionally raw.
Beginners isn't just the story of how Oliver learns to move on with his life. The narrative jumps around chronologically, so we witness Hal from Oliver's perspective. As a kid, his father was barely there. As an adult, he still never really feels like he knows him, like Hal was always holding something back. And then in the end, all he could really do was try and be supportive. There's a ton of history and unsaid things between them, and those things continue to haunt Oliver. It's in the way Mills handles Hal's homosexuality that Beginners becomes more than just another indie comedy, but grows into a truly important film. Coming out may have ultimately made Hal a happier man, freeing him from a life of shame and despair, but it also comes with it's share of issues. The loneliness doesn't just disappear, and he still has to deal with trying to date as a man of advanced age. He also has to learn a thing or two about tolerance and acceptance, lessons Oliver also wrestles with. All of this is done with respect and care by Mills. If it feels like deeply personal material, it's because Hal's story is based on the coming out of Mills' own father. There's an understanding, a truth to the way Mills approaches Hal's homosexuality that is refreshing. Lest anyone think Beginners is a totally dour affair, it emphatically isn't! Plummer's performance is heartbreakingly honest, but also hilarious. His attempts to fit in to a society far too young for him is played up for laughs just as much as poignancy. I dare you not to laugh watching the 81 year old Plummer grooving in a night club! The roller coaster relationship between Oliver and Anna is kept light for the most part. Their love blossoms slowly but passionately, and feels completely real. They do things regular people do, like roller skating and walking in the park as they try and figure each other out. But then Oliver also has to impress her, showing his "bad boy" side by spray painting his deep thoughts(which no one will understand!) on the city walls. She's an actress who sees love as a possible roadblock. He's a guy who throws roadblocks in the way of love. A few headaches naturally creep up. Watching his parents live a life without love has screwed him up royally, but in exploring his father's life Oliver starts to gain a new perspective. Anyone who has lost a parent and then wondered if you ever really knew them will know exactly what Oliver is going through.
Beginners is a hard movie to define. It's unconventional, funny at the oddest moments, and deals with some pretty heavy material. It's to the credit of Mills(the husband of indie filmmaker, Miranda July) that he weaves such an intricate and heartwarming story about not letting the baggage of the past weigh down our future happiness.
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