Beginners cast , clockwise: Oliver (Ewan McGregor), Arthur (Cosmo), Hal (Christopher Plummer) + Anna (Mélanie Laurent)
Beginners, directed by Mike Mills,is one of those modest, yet quietly brilliant , movies that gets universally praised by the critics but largely ignored by the public.
It would have passed me by too had I not been intrigued to learn why it had garnered such acclaim at both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.
It fully deserves this praise because it stands head and shoulders above the relentless spate of brash and largely forgettable Rom-Coms.
Unlike those films, Beginners is not aimed at libidinous teenagers but is interested in showing modern love (both straight and gay) in a way that makes us both understand and care for the characters.
The movie’s themes mirror the colours of the rainbow flag used as a symbol of the Gay Pride movement: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity, and violet for spirit.
There is no slapstick humour or crude innuendo yet it is both funny and sexy. It is touching and sad too but not in a downbeat way. Continue reading
