User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. This is a terrific little art-house character study with comedic elements, fine acting and superb writing. Mike Mills is responsible and he was also the writer and director on another excellent little movie from about 5 years ago called Thumbsucker. When I say little movie, I mean intimate and poignant with a nominal budget.

Three time periods are presented in overlapping form to an effective end. One period shows us Oliver (Ewan McGregor) as a young kid interacting with his mother (Mary Page Keller). Another period shows Oliver's father Hal (Christopher Plummer) confessing to him that he is gay (this is a few months after the mother/wife dies). The third period has Oliver trying to forge a relationship with Anna (Melanie Laurent) whom he met at a costume party.

While that may sound like a simple set-up, I assure you that the complications created by these characters is both realistic and head-spinning. It turns out Hal knew he was gay prior to marrying Oliver's mother, but claims she promised to "fix" him. Once he proclaims his gayness, Hal jumps in with both feet to all causes gay. He thoroughly enjoys himself and even meets a new, younger lover. And just when he admits to joy, inoperable cancer is discovered in Hal's lungs. This begins the second major secret of his life.

The scenes from Oliver's childhood provide crucial evidence on why he is so solemn and afraid of relationships. He suffers just as his mother did. Things begin to shift for him when, dressed as Freud, his party sofa becomes occupied by Anna - a beautiful, alluring French actress who, it turns out, is just as messed up emotionally as is Oliver. They make the perfect threesome ... including Arthur, Hal's Jack Terrier, who speaking through subtitles, lets us know when things are OK or not. Arthur takes a great deal of the heaviness away.

There are many elements of this film that I really like. The houses of both Hal and Oliver are full of as much personality as either of the characters. The look and pace of the film is meticulous and steady given the material. It seems to be naturally lighted from windows and interior sconces. Nothing even comes close to looking like a Hollywood set.

Ewan McGregor plays his part very close to the vest and conveys the pain and uncertainty that Oliver has learned over the years. His defenses are up! Melanie Laurent was my favorite part of Inglourious Basterds (she was the cinema owner on a mission) and here she offers both hopefulness and melancholy. To me, the heart of the film is Christopher Plummer's performance. He portrays an elderly gay man with grace and then takes it to another level in his "sick" scenes. He is a wise man who may or may not understand how selfish he was, but is intent on showing Oliver that it's never to late to be a "beginner" in love.

¨Well, let's say that since you were little, you always dreamed of getting a lion. And you wait, and you wait, and you wait, and you wait but the lion doesn't come. And along comes a giraffe. You can be alone, or you can be with the giraffe.¨

Beginners is one of those movies that stands out due to the strong performance from the cast. The actors tell the story, and sometimes a look can say more than actual words. Ewan McGregor has this look in his eyes that constantly reminds us in this film that his character is a very sad and lonesome guy. There is no need for him to tell us, we just know it by the way he acts. From the opening scene you will also notice this isn't your typical Hollywood romantic movie; it's different and actually rings true to life. Beginners is a romantic drama with a strong and special chemistry between the two lead roles played by McGregor and Melanie Laurent (from Inglorious Basterds fame). In order for a romantic movie to work it's a must for the two lead characters to have a strong chemistry between them, and these two have it from the start, from the very first moment they meet. Ironically when they first meet she can't talk, but they say so much to each other with their eyes. That is true in life sometimes. From that moment I knew this film was going to be good, and it was. Their relationship is the center of the story although the movie is non-linear as we get to see McGregor's relationship with his now dead mother and father. Those interactions with them shaped him and made him the man he is today. He witnessed how his parents respected one another, but lacked real love for each other. He doesn't want to make the same mistake.

Oliver (Ewan McGregor) is the narrator of the movie in which he is telling the story of his life. It's 2003 and his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer) has recently passed away. We get several flashbacks dealing with their relationship together. His mother, Georgia (Mary Page Keller), who he was closer with had died five years ago. After this, Oliver grew closer to his father who opened up to him and let him know he has been gay all his life. Hal really begins living after he comes out of the closet and has a relationship with a much younger man named Andy (Goran Visnjic). Oliver begins to see a version of his father that he never knew. At the same time he realizes his father has terminal cancer and therefore has to take care of him, but in a way they form a stronger bond with each other. Oliver is now on his own, working as a graphic artist who keeps to himself most of the time and spends time with his father's dog, Arthur, but one day his co-workers invite him to a party and insist on him joining them. There Oliver meets a young French actress named Anna (Melanie Laurent) and despite the fact that she can't speak at first due to laryngitis they spend the night together and the relationship grows from there. The two seem perfect for each other, neither of them is in a relationship, but Oliver is afraid they won't last. The movie jumps back and forth from Oliver's relationship with his father and his present relationship with Anna. We get to see how some things of the past have affected him and shaped him in the present.

Beginners is not a movie for everyone; some might find it slow-paced, but it is a very smart film with a good script written by Mike Mills himself (this is his first film since the 2005 movie Thumbsucker) and it has some great performances. I already mentioned how strong McGregor and Laurent were together, but who really has been getting all the praise is Christopher Plummer for his supporting role. He plays an openly gay seventy five year old man who is enjoying life after trying to repress his feelings for so many years. Just when his life begins to look good he is diagnosed with cancer and has to deal with this as well without telling his young lover that he's dying. He gives a terrific performance and will probably get nominated for the Oscars. I however found Laurent's performance to be the true heart of the film. She is just so natural on screen and was so believable; she was just amazing. McGregor is a terrific actor as well and we've grown used to seeing him give strong performances. Beginners is a movie for film lovers, they won't be disappointed. I recently saw New Year's Eve and that movie had so many romantic stories going on that none of them really rang true, but this one is really authentic and worth seeing. The characters are really complex and you can tell it just by looking into their eyes. Great film.

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For a film with such a haunting and depressing scenario, 'Beginners' is a surprisingly powerful and perceptive piece of cinema. When I first read the synopsis, I was a bit doubtful about the concept and was uncertain as to whether it was worth a watch, however after learning that the film was partially autobiographical and based on the life of writer-director Mike Mills, I decided to give it a try, convinced by the inspiration of Mills' first-person experiences. 'Beginners' blends comedy and romance against a dramatic backdrop in order to create a charming and character-driven story. In my opinion, it is Christopher Plummer's Oscar-winning performance that really sells the picture accompanied by some assuring performances from Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent. 'Beginners' is a powerfully understated piece of independent filmmaking that maintains it's emotional resonance from start to finish.

I got the chance to attend a sneak peek of director, Mike Mills', latest film last night at one of the Reel Affirmations film festival's monthly screenings. I like Mills' films. They've got a moody, tortured aesthetic, and this one is no different. The story is primarily about the relationship between a man, Oliver (Ewan McGregor), and his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer). When Hal dies, Oliver is left to contemplate his life, their relationship, and all the poor choices each of them had made up until this point. We see the world through Oliver's eyes, and so the whole film is suffused with an overall tone of deep sadness. He can't seem to make any of his romantic relationships work, but then he's never really had any good role models. You see, after the death of his mother four years prior, Hal finally came out to his son as gay—at the ripe age of seventy-five. It's a very touching, and lightly sweet moment. Oliver is happy that his father hasn't given up on life, and is finally pursuing true love, but he just can't forget the years of isolation and loneliness his mother went through. Commence the sad wallowing.

Of course, all this changes when Oliver meets an alluring, winsome French girl (Melanie Laurent). Anna is an actress, and she's just about as bad at relationships as Oliver. They don't know much about each other, but they're both beautiful, damaged souls, so they get on like a house on fire. And somehow, Oliver is thinking less and less about his parents. Those ladies can be mighty distracting! But, not distracting enough to totally conceal either of these attractive kids' inherent personality flaws. But they're pretty fetching while they're working out their demons!

This is a wonderful film. It really captures the deep emotions people feel for each other, and even lets the audience feel some of them for themselves. There were definitely moments during the screening that had people surreptitiously wiping tears from the corners of their eyes. But, it's also sexy and funny too. We get to enjoy Oliver and Anna's uncertain flirtation. And, we also get to savor Hal's belated (but not too late!) blossoming. He's as giddy and nervous as a school-girl at her first dance, but he ultimately takes to his new life like a fish to water, even as late to the game as he is. This movie is a real crowd pleaser, and it's one that just about everyone will enjoy. The pacing is deliberate and solemn, but the story sucks you in enough that you barely notice. You can even bring a date to this one. It's not one to miss.

I was able to see the world premiere of Beginners at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, and it completely took me by surprise. It was a bit of a last minute pick, and it has been my favourite film so far, and probably one of my favourite films in general. To be simple, I will just say that this film is about life and the emotions and experiences that we all go through within it. Christopher Plummer plays a 75 year old man who after the death of his wife is finally able to explore his homosexuality, and we see him come to life through this experience. It is not only about him, but mainly about his son played by Ewan McGregor, whose relationships with both his mother and father shape him as a person. These relationships and his own romantic relationships make up the core of his character, and it is through love, loss and discovery that the three main characters display an authentic view of humanity. It is an original film, and requires a certain audience, but I recommend that everyone should see this true gem.

Ewan McGregor and the lovely Melanie Laurent play two morose people who have no faith in the existence of love or relationships that can actually work and yet nevertheless decide to give it a try with each other.

The film has some modest charms to recommend it, but it's ultimately too gloomy for its own good. The characters played by McGregor and Laurent are so vaguely mopey that I found myself not caring all that much whether or not they found happiness in each other -- or even happiness at all. I just wanted to find happier people to hang out with.

Christopher Plummer received much acclaim, and an Oscar by the time I got around to writing this comment, as McGregor's dad, who comes out of the closet and then dies of cancer, not helping much to dispel his son's gloom.

Grade: B-

Mike Mills' 2005 debut Thumbsucker is a film whose quirky charm was completely lost on me, but where that film was drenched in artificiality, he somehow turned that charm into something grounded and serene with his sophomore feature Beginners. This is a movie that honestly transcends words, for me. The kind of impact it had on me will never be able to be described, but it's one that touched me at my soul and deeply moved me in a profound way. The film is built around this message from Mills' personal life that you have the capacity to assess your situation at any point in life and make a change for the better. However, in the most un-Hollywood sense, Mills never beats you over the head with the message or panders to it's audience; it just exists in it's own world and you can embrace it or not, but the film doesn't exist solely for that reason. It may not particularly exist for any reason, it just exists and for me, that was all it needed to do to hit me right in the heart.

In taking on a subject matter as emotionally strong as this (a father coming out of the closet at a late age and then being diagnosed with terminal cancer), Mills was open to a plethora of moments for overbearing melodrama to bring the audience to tears, but he never embraces this in a traditional way at all. He treats the subject with this delicate, grounded approach that feels fully original and honestly quite daring in it's subtlety, leading to an experience much more effective than if he had gone the traditional route. His background in graphic design leads to some wonderfully charming editing techniques and Woody Allen circa Annie Hall uniqueness in the story structure, but it never overpowers the center that is ultimately a charming, emotional and entirely natural character study. The study of a young man finally seeing who his father is, contrasted with his first experience in true love. All three of the central characters charmed me off my feet, but Mills creates genuine, flawed and sometimes annoying human beings out of all of them.

Once again, as with everything else in the film, he transcends the general approach and just creates these full, real human beings. Oliver and Anna instantly became one of my favorite couples in the history of cinema, with the incomparable chemistry between Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent, and Hal reminded me so much of my grandfather it really brought me to tears several times. Mills plays everything in an understated way, but by doing this he allows the film to really get under your skin and sink in, a much more effective technique than just hitting you on the surface over and over again. The performances by all three are truly out of this world.

I find McGregor to be a great talent who rarely gets the opportunity to demonstrate that, but this character allows him to give his finest performance to date. He is so grounded and honest in his portrayal, bringing comedy both light and dark along with genuine emotion that sunk into me deeply over and over again. I related to his faults and his gifts and McGregor really made me feel like I understood this guy through and through. Laurent is a delight and makes you fall in love with her almost instantly; again I have to mention the overwhelming chemistry that the two of these had. Before we even got a chance to fully comprehend their relationship, I was in tears by the simple act of them holding hands with one another. Mills and Laurent take a character that could have been conventional and tossed aside for the father-son dynamic and make a fully-fleshed person out of her, complete with her own demons and turmoil and I fell in love with her all the way.

Then comes Christopher Plummer as Oliver's father, who is everything you could want from this guy; charming, chaotic, filled with life and regret. He's absolutely enchanting and devastating simultaneously, a guy that makes you want to live your life to fullest potential. In fact, enchanting is a word that is perfect for the film as a whole. Beyond the authenticity and the emotional impact that it had on me (which is not small by any notion), the film truly seems to dance at times and it's in those moments that I felt something...beautiful and serene beyond anything that words could hope to encapsulate. This movie transcended everything for me.

Beginners is a great film that will not satisfy a few viewers, as evidenced by other comments here. First, here's what it will not do: it will not feed you a linear story with a single, simple plot. The beauty of this film is in its complexity, which faithfully reflects the dynamics of real life. There are flashbacks. There is highly cinematic use of material that is intended to suggest mood, rather than deliver it with dead dialog. Yes, the dog gets a few subtitles, highly credible for anyone who has ever owned a dog. There is even a brief moment in which solid colors flash on the screen, and we occasionally visit the protagonist's revealing sketches. There is a message in all of this that some will not appreciate. Several stories are magically woven together: the son's difficulty in maintaining a relationship, the girlfriend's own hesitation to commit to one place and one person, the mother's endurance of a marriage that worked on only one level, the father's adjustment to his new gay life, and his boyfriend's worries that he is not accepted because he is gay. Whew! That's a lot to cram into one story, but it works remarkably well and we see in the end that all the characters were what the title said, Beginners.

That's what I took with me and stayed with me. The humanity in Ewan MacGregor's eyes. Sadness and joy unmistakable in its deepness and its pungent recognition. Christopher Plummer is superb as the 75 year old who confesses to his son, he's been gay all his life and after the death of his wife, a sublime Mary Page Keller, he allows that side of his nature to take off and experiment, for the first time in his life, in an honest loving relationship with another man, the odd and lovely Goran Visnjic. As if this wasn't enough, a dog. An extraordinary creature who carries as much humanity as its human counterparts. Melanie Laurent adds an extra pinch of sexual sympathy. "Beginners" will play beautifully on the small screen so I predict a long life for this unexpected treat.

Beginners tells the story of a father and his son, and how both of them manage to cope with their lives. The father, played by Christopher Plummer, knows he's gay since the age of 13, but only comes out after his wife's death, much to his son's surprise. Then he tries to enjoy life as much as possible (meaning as much as he hasn't been able to when married), especially considering he is soon diagnosed with terminal cancer. Meanwhile his son, played by Ewan McGregor, begins to understand his father better, and after his death, uses what he's learned to begin a new life of his own, most importantly in the form of a relationship with a French actress, played by Mélanie Laurent. This last part takes place in 2003.

The funny thing is that the first part of the storyline is directly based on the director's personal experience, which explains how much he cares for these characters. And it shows. The film is warm and touching, without falling into cheap sentimentality, but conscious of the hopeful and sincere message it has to tell by the end. It does so quietly, progressively, only revealing it at the very end. Thus the conversations and situations are about many different things, apparently not leading anywhere when in fact they are. Furthermore, apart from the two time periods indicated in the first paragraph, the film also goes back to the son's childhood and his relationship with his mother, and also features three or four short slideshows of historical pictures, accompanied by the son's voice-over, not to mention occasional, very brief flashbacks within the 2003 narrative. So all those different time periods are interconnected in the film, not chronologically (only the 2003 part unfolds that way), and still manage to mirror one another. And the wonderful thing is that this complex time structure never becomes confusing and doesn't hurt the film's fluidity one bit.

The result is a highly creative film, as far as the screenplay goes, and such originality feels like a true breath of fresh air. In that sense, some highlights are the scene when McGregor's and Laurent's characters first meet, attending a costume party, the former dressed as Freud; the subtitles showing the viewer what the son's cute dog is thinking; or the religious essay that the father writes. Another consequence is a very dynamic editing work, providing the story with the necessary harmony and at the same time keeping the viewer from falling into a comfortable passive attitude, as the story in question never moves in the most expected direction, but rather diverges and converges into apparently independent scenes which, like I mentioned above, only come together little by little. In other words, the film is a thought-provoking one; with much more to it than what it seems at first sight.

So overall this is a film with a heartfelt story to share with us, technically well made, with some risky directorial choices that for the most part succeed in their purpose, and with some noticeable performances to round it up, especially Christopher Plummer's affecting turn, undoubtedly deserving of Oscar recognition in the Best Supporting Actor category.

****

This film is about a young man whose father came out as being gay and was found to have terminal cancer.

The plot summary of "Beginners" makes the film sound like a touching, introspective and soul searching journey of Oliver, who deals with his father's big changes. These are what "Beginners" could have been like. It could have explored the father's difficult and conflicted life, and Oliver's path to adjustment to such drastic changes. It could have been so touching and engaging.

However, "Beginners" is in reality a jumbled up mess. It concentrates on Oliver's love life with a French woman he met at a party, with occasional flashbacks o his childhood and his father's battle with cancer. The story flips from one time point to another incoherently. The story is no logical focus. The subplot about Oliver's love life is so disjointed that I don't even know what message it wants to portray. Moreover, Oliver's father is the most interesting character in the film, and yet the film is not about him.

I was thoroughly bored by "Beginners". The only redeeming feature of the film is the confession of Oliver's father about his marriage to his wife. The rest of the film is an incoherent bore.

Beginners imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent) only months after his father Hal (Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father who - following 44 years of marriage - came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The upheavals of Hal's new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they'd ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.

In 2003, Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) is a thirty-eight year-old art designer that draws sketches in an advertisement agency. He is a cold guy that was raised with respectful but loveless parents and lost his mother Georgia (Mary Page Keller) five years ago. He has just lost his father Hal Fields (Christopher Plummer) after a long treatment against cancer. Hal had come out of the closet and confessed to his son that he was gay after the death of his mother and soon he finds a boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic).

When Oliver meets the French Anna (Mélanie Laurent) and they have a relationship. However, Oliver is a quitter and he lets Anna go despite his crush on her.

"Beginners" is a disappointing romantic comedy, with a pointless love story since the major concern seems to be to raise a rainbow flag. The charming and gorgeous Mélanie Laurent makes this film worthy with another great performance. However, her character is poorly developed and it is never clear whether she is a French actress or whatever. The dog Arthur is another attraction of this flick.

Ewan McGregor seems to be completely lost in the role of Oliver and this is certainly his worst performance ever. Hollywood seems to like actresses that perform whore and actors that perform gay characters; there is no other explanation for the hype and undeserved Oscar to Christopher Plummer. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Toda Forma de Amor" ("All the Shape of Love")

In Los Angeles in 2003, a man in his thirties (Ewan McGregor) connects with a woman (Melanie Laurent) despite both of them having relationship phobias. The film is in flashbacks and also tells the story of the man's father (Christopher Plummer) who came out of the closet in his seventies to live as a gay man.

The plotlines are simple and subtle. Yet, director/writer Mike Mills shows great compassion for all of his characters and their situations which include terminal illness and the denial of it, difficult parental issues, mourning, needy dogs, incomplete marriages where one spouse is gay in the 1950s, and gay history.

Every character is flawed and comes across as quite loveable nonetheless. It is also a pleasure that the romance between the main players shows genuine warmth and vulnerability rather than the usual pornography. With beautiful piano music accompanying this film, it was overall a sweet pleasure. - dbamateurcritic

Beginners is one of those films that blows away any preconceived notions you may have formed from the synopsis and trailer, being full of heart and emotions in its unconventional storytelling techniques that just draws you into the film and its characters. For writer director Mike Mills, the premise is based on his own parents, where with the passing of his mom came the revelation by his dad who had decided to come out of the closet. Questions will undoubtedly race through anyone's mind, much less the son's, as to why and how the couple decided to stay together despite obvious knowledge of one's sexual orientation that this heterosexual relationship just wouldn't work out naturally, but that it did was nothing short of amazing, and amazing is the word to describe this film.

It's unique presentation utilized still shots like photographs from memory, wry humour, flashbacks galore and plenty of narration from the protagonist Oliver, played by Ewan McGregor, who is at the crossroads of his life with the death of his mom Georgia (Mary Page Keller), and his dad Hal (Christopher Plummer) revealing that he's gay. In a way it's one depressing blow after another, especially when his mother's death seemed in a way a release for his dad to finally lead the remaining years of his life in as honest fashion as possible. In a poignant scene it reminded us of romance and attitudes of the days bygone, where marriage is an institution, and homosexuality thought to be an illness that can be addressed and cured through well, holy matrimony. At least the intention is pure, and laid the path for us today to question themes about commitment, and love itself.

And love served all the subplots in the film, such as that between a very different mom and dad, that between Oliver and Hal as son and father with the former concerned about and caring for his father's twilight years toward the inevitable, that between Hal and his younger lovers, Oliver and his mom from whom he seemed to have been imparted her sense of dry humour, and with Oliver himself falling for a French actress Anna (Melanie Laurent) who also has issues of her own to contend with. The narrative shifts through time constantly but never at any time leave you high and dry figuring about just where in the story you find yourself in, with the editing being superb in execution for such a result. Not to forget that the father's pet dog interacts and has some of the best lines (yes) in the film - you'll probably fall in love with the Jack Russell if you haven't already.

What's made a lot more poignant, perhaps in more personal terms, is how one can never be too sure about one's romantic relationship with another, with a level of ambiguity setting in, and apprehension and hesitation playing a part in creating self-doubt, that what is working well, could be taken apart rather effortlessly not because of ego or envy or the usual issues, but that of just being clueless. Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent both share this wonderful chemistry together so much so you'll be rooting for their characters to stay together, and weep silently with an aching heart when they don't. Equally Ewan shows how effortlessly it can be with his chemistry with Christopher Plummer as well, and brings home to my mind similar care-taking efforts personally experienced. Then there's Keegan Boos playing the young Oliver and Mary Page Keller as the mom whose segments together with its dark humour left me in stitches, and left me wanting a lot more.

Beginners possesses that sense of charm, wit, and all round great performance to complement that unique narrative of an unconventional story touching on how relationships with people shape our lives. The film comes highly recommended, so don't let it slip away from the big screen before you got a chance to catch it. Easily one of my favourites of the year, entering my shortlist as one of the best this year has to offer during a time when bigger films still garner a lot more attention and screenings.

You're never too old to change. That's the message of "Beginners," a muted indie drama about two men - a father and a son - who alter the course of their lives in unexpected and dramatic ways.

For Hal (Christopher Plummer), that change is particularly stunning, since he has lived the first seven decades of his life as a closeted gay man, husband to a woman (Mary Page Keller) who believed she could "change" him and father to a son who bewilderingly stood witness to what he thought was nothing more than a loveless marriage. Only after his wife's death is Hal able to reveal the truth about himself to the world and to his son, and, in his 70s, he makes his long-delayed entrance into the "gay scene," even going so far as to procure a young immigrant boyfriend (Goran Visnjic) for himself. Unfortunately for Hal, the experience turns out to be a short-lived one, for, as the movie opens, we discover that Hal has recently died of cancer, and Oliver, who narrates the story, is still trying to cope with his perplexity and grief.

The real focus of the movie is on Oliver (Ewan McGregor) , who, like many men of his generation, finds it impossible to form lasting ties with the women he meets. Does this fear of commitment arise from having observed the unfulfilling relationship, the wasted lives of his own parents? Possibly. But Oliver may be running out of excuses, for he now has in his father a new role model to follow, that of a man who, after a lifetime of dishonesty and compromise, chose to grab at his one chance of happiness, to shake off the dust of an ossified existence and make his life count for something at the end. The good news for Oliver is that he has the opportunity to make that same resolution at a much earlier stage in his life, a possibility that becomes all the clearer when he falls for an alluring French actress (Melanie Laurent) who would like to start a serious romance with this troubled fellow.

Writer/director Mike Mills, who based the story on his own father, weaves a complex series of flashbacks to relate his story, never violating the hushed, respectful tone of the piece with big dramatic confrontations or corny melodramatics. - though he isn't averse to finding the humorous and playful side of life either, even in its darkest moments. For the most part, though, he simply shows us brief moments in these characters' lives, captured for posterity by the eye of the camera, poignant in the sense of sadness, loss, redemption, fulfillment and hope they convey.

Plummer and McGregor are, of course, flawless in their performances, but special note should be taken of Cosmo ("Hotel for Dogs"), the most scene-stealing pooch since Uggie in "The Artist."

A great premise -- a 75 year old widower coming out of the closet -- and a great actor, Christopher Plummer, in the role -- what could go wrong? Ewan MacGregor, as Plummer's son, manages a decent American accent, and the scenes between them suggest what the movie could have been if Mike Mills had put their evolving relationship at the center. Instead, the main story follows MacGregor (who needs to choose better scripts or we'll forget "Shallow Grave" ever existed) in the years after his father's death, telling us over and over how sad he is, how incapable of commitment, how much he loves his dog (who speaks in subtitles), and how sad he is again, as he bonds, un-bonds and re-bonds with a pretty French actress as vapid as he is, all to sad, pretty piano music. (On its own, the soundtrack's great.) Plummer livens things up when the film flashes back to him, but it's criminal that such a wonderful actor and performance have to take second fiddle to the vacuous self-pity of the leads. Mills is a perfect example of a filmmaker who uses jumbled chronology to hide the fact that he hasn't worked out the story he wants to tell. Instead of the incisive, intelligent comedy of gender, sexuality and family relations it could have been, ""Beginners" is an interminable, cutesy mope fest. Avoid.