A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover.
Mike Mills’ latest offers a wealth of wit and wisdom. Give the dog a bone – and Plummer an Oscar nod.
Whimsicality runs through every frame of the film, which may make it too self-conscious and meandering for some tastes. Incurable romantics will clutch it to their hearts with gratitude.
With good performances and characters, Beginners is an enjoyable, amusing and occasionally poignant watch. Indie film fans will want to catch it, but it falls short of being a must-see.
This is really Plummer's show: and he gives a lovely, exuberant, affecting performance that is neither sexless not saintly.
It is tonally elusive, cerebral and subdued, but this is a film with a healthy, if self-conscious IQ. It could be an excellent date movie.
What emerges is a work that’s smart, original and likeable.
Despite a stand-out performance from an old pro, it keeps the audience at a distance.
Good-natured attempt at a Woody Allen film.
In general, though, pats on the backs to Mills and his cast for turning in such a pedigree, chummy piece.
Mills's comedy-drama touches on some very dark themes (cancer, death, family rupture, sexual repression) in a delicate and very playful way.
Funny, cute and humane Beginners is a small gem of a film.
This is not a good film. It just seems good, amid all the louder rubbish around.
Too cute by three-quarters.
True romantics will fall under its spell.
It's charming and disarming stuff.
Beginners is immensely moving, funny and involving, the acting beyond reproach, with Christopher Plummer bringing a rare wit, compassion and unsanctimonious grace to the role of Hal. In its quiet, unostentatious way, it's one of the most sensitive films I've seen about the experience of living through and responding to the profound social changes of the past 60 years.
Beginners comes that close to being grating in its hare-brained charm, but is saved by the genuine freedom, delicacy, and – yes – seriousness with which Mills puts it all together.
Mike Mills--interview
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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