Beginners (2011)

Dir: Mike Mills

Writer: Mike Mills

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent

I enjoy the quietness of this film. The premise of the movie is simple: a father (Plummer) tells his son (McGregor) that he is gay after his wife dies. He's been gay his entire life. The son not only deals with learning this, but the fact that his father is sick as well. There's a bit of a love story in there, too. In this day and age where films with this kind of plot are usually filmed with the intention of reaping all the manipulative sentimentality they can, Beginners feels genuine and quiet and unassuming. It guides you through a personal story with an intimate lense.

Director Mike Mills accomplishes much with his simplicity. Aparently based on his own life and family, the movie makes my heart stir without making me squirm. Here's just a guy trying to figure it out; 'it' being life, and the guy being just like everyone else. It's sad and poignant but moving in a non-corny way (that says a lot if you know that there is a dog that McGregor talks to through the movie). It was my favorite film of 2011.

Christopher Plummer will surely go on to win an Academy Award for this; nobody else in the category holds a flame to his deep performance. I just wish it was recognized more for the great movie it is--it's just too quietly not tooting it's own horn, but for that I treasure this movie.

The Best: Christopher Plummer as Hal. I can't say more about his wonderful, admirable, and yes--quiet--performance.

Fact: Director Mills is married to writer/director/actor Miranda July in real life. Last summer she also released a film called The Future, which had a cat named Paw Paw that spoke as narrator. They both released movies with verbal pets! Beginners featured the dog Arthur's dialogue in subtitles.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10)