This sometimes darkly humorous, charming and unconventional movie opens with Oliver Field (Ewan McGregor, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Star Wars I,II, and III, Trainspotting), mourning the passing of his father Hal (Christopher Plummer, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Sound of Music).
Beginners is essentially divided into two love stories, one before the death of his father, which Oliver narrates, and the other Oliver's, as he comes to grips with the confusion inspired by his father's “coming out” at the respectful age of 75, six months after the death of Oliver's mother Georgia (Mary Page Keller).
The marriage between Hal and Georgia was cordial but distant for decades, until her death. After Hal unveils his true self, he embraces his new identity with a new vitality and takes on a younger lover, Andy (Goran Visnjic, Welcome to Sarajevo). The upheaval introduced by Hal's new identity, both tumultuously funny (complete with rainbow scarf) and moving, bring father and son closer than they have ever been.
Oliver is hit with yet another shock by his father when Hal tells him he has terminal cancer. In the intervening time to Hal's passing Oliver and Hal develop their relationship even further as Oliver tends to his dying father, thus developing Oliver's emotional maturity further.
Oliver is hit with yet another shock by his father when Hal tells him he has terminal cancer. In the intervening time to Hal's passing Oliver and Hal develop their relationship even further as Oliver tends to his dying father, thus developing Oliver's emotional maturity further.
After Hal's passing Oliver meets Anna (Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds), a damaged French actress, and hopes that the lessons of love gleaned from Hal will show him how to act in a loving relationship.
One of pearls in this witty flick revolves around the relationship between the young Oliver (Keegan Boos) and his mother, another is an endearing Jack Russell Terrier, Arthur (Cosmo) who boasts a vocabulary of 150 words. Yeah, Larry H. has a soft spot in his heart (or head depending on which member of his family you talk to) for the diminutive but determined beasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment