Forging a new beginning

By: Sophie Mirzaian

“Realistic” people have this idea that nothing will ever truly work out. Usually, they also make sure nothing ever does. Feeling disconnected, pressured, and alone transforms people into things they wish they weren’t. They strive to be in control of something, and if that one thing is their own unhappiness, then so be it.

In the movie “Beginners,” Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) is one of those people. He exists, but that’s about it. His 75-year-old father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), admitted to being gay when Oliver’s mother died. During the last few years of his life, Hal chose to embrace his sexuality and lived his life more fully than Oliver ever lived or could imagine living his own.

After his father’s death, Oliver meets a beautiful woman, Anna (Melanie Laurent), with whom he has a lot in common. As an actress, she travels from place to place without making human connections. They both finally found people they can relate to, and they discover both love and themselves through each other.

Director Mike Mills does a tremendous job with this poignant, original, and smart love story. The film seems to mostly be a reflection of himself and his life.

The performances are touching and effective. McGregor is perfect for the role of Oliver; he is candid, vulnerable, and genuine, and the emotions expressed seem completely authentic. Laurent and Plummer are the same, and the cast has surprisingly believable connections with each other.

Mills takes you on a subtle and beautiful adventure filled with the happy and the sad, the tears and the laughs, the disappointments and the once-in-a-million moments that allow you to breathe a sigh of relief because things actually worked out. The film is terribly effective because, really, that’s what love is; that’s what life is.