I’m a bit late to the party with this one, as it is now two years since Christopher Plummer won the Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Hal in the 2010 film ‘Beginners’, written and directed by Mike Mills. The film has two overlapping storylines, that of Hal’s decision to come out as gay at the age of 75, four years before his death from cancer, and the budding romance of Hal’s son Oliver (Ewan McGregor) with French actress Anna (Melanie Laurent)
What appealed to me about this film was not the subject matter, which has been tackled so many times before it is almost a cliche (older man seeks younger lover and ‘find himself’ before it is too late), but the way it is filmed – with flashbacks to the particular years being discussed, historical events, subtitling the dog’s thoughts, and other tricks which take away the viewer’s attention from the fact that, really, this film doesn’t have a great script, believable characters, or much to say.
Disappointed – but do take a look to see a different take on how to make a film, and kudos to Mills for thinking up some of the more quirky aspects of ‘Beginners’.