Beginners

“When it comes to relationships, we're all beginners,” says writer-director Mike Mills, whose father Paul acknowledged that he was homosexual only after his wife of 45 years passed away. Five years later, Paul died of lung cancer at age 79, but not before blossoming into a new, far happier person. Mills recreates the evolution of his deeply personal relationship with his dad in elliptical form—seamlessly utilizing flashbacks—in this whimsical, semi-autobiographical comedic drama. Ewan McGregor plays Mills's alter-ego, Oliver, a wry, emotionally conflicted graphic artist, while Christopher Plummer is father Hal, a retired Santa Barbara art museum curator, and Mary Page Keller is repressed Jewish mother Georgia. As Oliver observes the situation with bewildered bemusement, gleefully out-of-the-closet Hal is determined to embrace and enjoy as much of the gay lifestyle as he can in the time he has left, including forming a romantic attachment with much younger Andy (Goran Visnjic). When disease eventually claims Hal, a mourning Oliver inherits Arthur, a soulful Jack Russell terrier, whose observant “thoughts” are subtitled here, and shortly afterwards he embarks on a romance with Anna (Mélanie Laurent), a vivacious, enigmatic French actress. Intelligently written, beautifully photographed, and deliberately paced, this bittersweet, contemporary story about love ultimately becomes a celebration of honesty. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Mike Mills, a “making-of” featurette (15 min.), a brief promo, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning film.] (S. Granger)