REVIEW | Beginners (2010)

Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) tells his story through a visual timeline. History conscious, Oliver also describes the sun, the stars, and love by their era ("This is how the sun looks like in 1955, and this is how the sun looks like in 2003..."), how tangible and intangible things in life evolve or expose themselves as time flows. Like  in 1955, his father, Hal Fields (Christopher Plummer), marries Oliver's mother, and in 2003, at the age of 75, after Oliver's mother's death, Hal confesses that he's gay...and  soon after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Beginners is a playfully visual and poetic satire of a dysfunctional life, with a constant undercurrent of sadness. We watch the repressed Oliver in present time, with his highly dependent dog Arthur, come to terms with the death of his father not long after his confession and immediate indulgence in a homosexual lifestyle. We see Oliver's present-day observations and life experiences trigger memories from the past-- from his childhood spent with his neglected mother to his father's coming-out. And then wrapped in a functional kind of depression, he meets an unpredictable French girl (Melanie Laurent) and falls in love with her. And with his recent tragedies, we fear for Oliver's vulnerability.

Beginners, with a charming cinematography and unimposing musical score, is rich with subtle emotions. The story is minimally absorbing, but the depth comes from the multi-layered characters brilliantly acted by the entire cast (including Oliver's dog), but most notably by Christopher Plummer. It's poetic, candid, visually pleasing, and emotional, without any concrete plot, but simply a portrayal of a man and the many little tragedies in his life.

3 out 5 stars

Premiered at the Toronto Film Fest in 2011, re-released in the cinemas last June 3rd, and now available in DVD/Blu-Ray