The Beginners

The film Beginners with Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer is the real story of Director, Mike Mills and his experience with his father. After Mills’s mother passed away, his father, at the age of 75, came out of the closet as a gay man. They story is quite beautiful and could have been told in a variety of ways. From the way Mills decided to tell it, I can only conclude that he felt very alone, sad and withdrawn for most of his young and adult life. A life devoid of emotion and connections. From a young age he lived a life of smoke and mirrors, never allowing himself to feel deeply. I can identify with having a past fraught with secrets and deception. That being said, it was quite heavy with few breaks of happy. The narrative between Ewan’s character (Oliver) and his dad’s dog were priceless and provided some moments of soft humour in a movie that was otherwise kind of cream washed.

Oliver goes through his own self actualization while navigating a story he was waiting to be told since a young adult. When his daddy goes for a “walk” every Tuesday for 20 years, he begins to understand something is amiss. It’s like how you just know the difference between sunshine orange and marmalade. He watches his father blossoming and he’s following suit, now having his lifelong role model tell the truth about the core of his being, for the first time. Beginners gives the viewer who may be trapped in a life, body or relationship that doesn’t feel right a story of hope, a promise of something more, someone who took that scary leap from safe to love. These stories are what gives children and adults a voice, a vision of someone who had courage to challenge. Beginners is the type of movie that will be an inspiration to millions to live life true, passionate and real. The tone could have been lighter. But it’s about what’s true to the story that needed to be told, tone was a consequence. It’s worth a watch, just don’t be too tired before you watch it.