Writer/director Mike Mills based this drama on his own experiences with his father. That touch of authenticity washes over this sad and funny film. The story takes place over three time periods. The main character's interactions with his mother when he was a child, a few months after the death of his father and the years proceeding his father's death starting with his announcement that he is gay.
Ewan McGregor (MOULIN ROUGE!) plays Oliver, an artist who wants to create the history of sadness for a band's album cover when all they asked for was portraits in his signature style. The death of his parents has hit him hard and exaggerated his feelings of failure, which extend to his relationships. His father Hal (Christopher Plummer, THE LAST STATION) on the other hand didn't die sad at all. When this man came out, he came out. He posted personal ads for sex, he joined several gay clubs and activist groups, he went to dance clubs and learned what house music was, and he fell in love with Andy (Goran Visnjic, TV's E.R.).
Two months after his father's death, Oliver's friends drag him to a costume party. He dresses like Freud. He sits down by a couch and starts to analyze a green-skinned male witch. Next is the gorgeous Anna (Melanie Laurent, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), dressed up like a man. She writes her questions down in a notebook because she lost her voice. She begins to analyze the analyst and asks why someone with such sad eyes would come to a party. My analysis of this charming meet cute scene is that it sets the tone for their relationship.
In sly contrast to the realistic human portrayals, Mills adds in touches of whimsy. Oliver adopts his father's Jack Russell terrier that shares his thoughts in subtitles. Over the course of the timeframes, Oliver narrates facts about each time, such as whom was president, how people looked in ads and what love looked like. A shot loose change has a profound meaning.
While, the relationships in the film are a sign of hope that it is never too late to be happy, they aren't perfect. Andy isn't exclusive with Hal, who is afraid to share the status of his cancer with his new lover. Hal is happy now, but as we see in the flashbacks to Oliver's childhood, his mother Georgia (Mary Page Keller, THE NEGOTIATOR) never was. Oliver is torn between resentment and happiness for his father's newfound liveliness. Oliver's mother never got her second chance to be happy. Meanwhile, parent issues trickle down onto Oliver's relationship with Anna, who has her own issues with her troubled father. Anna, an actress who is always on the move, hates hopping from hotel to hotel, but isn't comfortable with settling down either.
McGregor brings a palpable sadness to his character, but he never forces it. At the party, he attempts to be the cheerful self he once was. Laurent's Anna sees this and responds to it. She is warm and full of life, which is exactly what Oliver needs. I use charming too much, but their relationship is just that. Plummer is subtle and full of grace as a man who seems like a great burden has been lifted from his shoulders. But like the old Oliver that lurks under the sad one, the old cold Hal lurks there when he's interacting with his son sometimes.
Mills makes us invested in the continued happiness of these characters. But we know for one of them that the joy of life does have an end. And yet that doesn't mean that end needs to be sad. To make a film so hopeful and somber at the same time is BEGINNERS biggest accomplishment.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
