Beginners tells the story of a father and his son, and how both of them manage to cope with their lives. The father, played by Christopher Plummer, knows he's gay since the age of 13, but only comes out after his wife's death, much to his son's surprise. Then he tries to enjoy life as much as possible (meaning as much as he hasn't been able to when married), especially considering he is soon diagnosed with terminal cancer. Meanwhile his son, played by Ewan McGregor, begins to understand his father better, and after his death, uses what he's learned to begin a new life of his own, most importantly in the form of a relationship with a French actress, played by Mélanie Laurent. This last part takes place in 2003.
The funny thing is that the first part of the storyline is directly based on the director's personal experience, which explains how much he cares for these characters. And it shows. The film is warm and touching, without falling into cheap sentimentality, but conscious of the hopeful and sincere message it has to tell by the end. It does so quietly, progressively, only revealing it at the very end. Thus the conversations and situations are about many different things, apparently not leading anywhere when in fact they are. Furthermore, apart from the two time periods indicated in the first paragraph, the film also goes back to the son's childhood and his relationship with his mother, and also features three or four short slideshows of historical pictures, accompanied by the son's voice-over, not to mention occasional, very brief flashbacks within the 2003 narrative. So all those different time periods are interconnected in the film, not chronologically (only the 2003 part unfolds that way), and still manage to mirror one another. And the wonderful thing is that this complex time structure never becomes confusing and doesn't hurt the film's fluidity one bit.
The result is a highly creative film, as far as the screenplay goes, and such originality feels like a true breath of fresh air. In that sense, some highlights are the scene when McGregor's and Laurent's characters first meet, attending a costume party, the former dressed as Freud; the subtitles showing the viewer what the son's cute dog is thinking; or the religious essay that the father writes. Another consequence is a very dynamic editing work, providing the story with the necessary harmony and at the same time keeping the viewer from falling into a comfortable passive attitude, as the story in question never moves in the most expected direction, but rather diverges and converges into apparently independent scenes which, like I mentioned above, only come together little by little. In other words, the film is a thought-provoking one; with much more to it than what it seems at first sight.
So overall this is a film with a heartfelt story to share with us, technically well made, with some risky directorial choices that for the most part succeed in their purpose, and with some noticeable performances to round it up, especially Christopher Plummer's affecting turn, undoubtedly deserving of Oscar recognition in the Best Supporting Actor category.
****
The funny thing is that the first part of the storyline is directly based on the director's personal experience, which explains how much he cares for these characters. And it shows. The film is warm and touching, without falling into cheap sentimentality, but conscious of the hopeful and sincere message it has to tell by the end. It does so quietly, progressively, only revealing it at the very end. Thus the conversations and situations are about many different things, apparently not leading anywhere when in fact they are. Furthermore, apart from the two time periods indicated in the first paragraph, the film also goes back to the son's childhood and his relationship with his mother, and also features three or four short slideshows of historical pictures, accompanied by the son's voice-over, not to mention occasional, very brief flashbacks within the 2003 narrative. So all those different time periods are interconnected in the film, not chronologically (only the 2003 part unfolds that way), and still manage to mirror one another. And the wonderful thing is that this complex time structure never becomes confusing and doesn't hurt the film's fluidity one bit.
The result is a highly creative film, as far as the screenplay goes, and such originality feels like a true breath of fresh air. In that sense, some highlights are the scene when McGregor's and Laurent's characters first meet, attending a costume party, the former dressed as Freud; the subtitles showing the viewer what the son's cute dog is thinking; or the religious essay that the father writes. Another consequence is a very dynamic editing work, providing the story with the necessary harmony and at the same time keeping the viewer from falling into a comfortable passive attitude, as the story in question never moves in the most expected direction, but rather diverges and converges into apparently independent scenes which, like I mentioned above, only come together little by little. In other words, the film is a thought-provoking one; with much more to it than what it seems at first sight.
So overall this is a film with a heartfelt story to share with us, technically well made, with some risky directorial choices that for the most part succeed in their purpose, and with some noticeable performances to round it up, especially Christopher Plummer's affecting turn, undoubtedly deserving of Oscar recognition in the Best Supporting Actor category.
****