Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Beginners is a drama about the relationship between a young man and his father, who comes out of the closet at the age of 75.
Growing up, Oliver’s father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), was physically and emotionally absent. Because of this, he was raised primarily by his mother, Georgia (Mary Page Keller). As an adult, Oliver remembers his parents’ lives as being emotionally empty, but he never understood why. It wasn’t until his mother passed away from cancer in 2019 and his father came out of the closet and started dating a much younger man, Andy (Goran Višnjić), that he begins to understand his parents’ relationship.
And now, in 2003, after the death of his father, Oliver looks back his relationship with his parents and tries to make sense of it all. He meets a French actress at a costume party, Anna (Mélanie Laurent), and they start seeing each other. But getting close to Anna brings up more memories from his youth and a few concerns he’d long forgotten.
Some Thoughts:
Although Beginners is a decently made film with a good cast of competent actors, it lacks an emotional connection. The story spends a lot of time exploring Oliver’s relationship with Anna. This would be fine if the film was about Oliver and Anna, but it’s not. And because of that, the story about Oliver and his father ends up getting lost in the shuffle.
It’s not that the movie doesn’t focus on Oliver’s relationship with his parents, because it does. We see Oliver’s childhood, how he spent most his time with his mother, how his father came out of the closet after his mother’s death, and when Hal was diagnosed with cancer. But what happened between Oliver’s childhood and when his father came out of the closet? We know that Oliver’s mother died from cancer, but how did Oliver’s father handle it? And what was their relationship like then?
It also doesn’t help that Oliver and Hal never have a real heart-to-heart. It seems odd that his mother would pass away and his father would do an about face without a dramatic moment. Did Hal even grieve for the loss of his wife? And if not, how did Oliver take it? I can’t imagine he would just accept it with a shrug, which is how it seems. It makes the film feel emotionally vacuous, and thus unable to connect with the viewer. It’s a shame because everything else about the movie is well done.
The Final Verdict:
Beginners is a well-intended film with a fine cast and a competent director but lacks an emotional connection.
