Oscar Nominee Review: Beginners | Player Affinity

Beginners is a snooze. Plain and simple. And that's unfortunate, really, because it's a very personal story. Director Mike Millis partly based Beginners on his own life—specifically, the material dealing with the main character's elderly father who comes out of the closet after his wife dies. If only the film focused more on that material, it could have been very touching. Instead, that story is meant to supplement an overly cutesy and often quite boring, love story. There's nothing interesting or exceptional about it, and the couple's problems seem completely of their own making. Christopher Plummer, nominated for an Oscar for this role, gives a good performance as the gay father, and the dog in the film is damn adorable, but the list of pros ends right there.

The stand-in for Millis is Oliver (Ewan McGregor), an illustrator in his late thirties. He's in the process of grieving his late father, Hal (Plummer), when he meets Anna (Melaine Laurent). She's a French actress who's on the road too much to really settle down. He's understandably a little down, but he realizes it's not much of a change from his usual attitude. He's not exactly the happiest guy, and he has a serious fear of commitment which stems from the chilly relationship between his parents. And though Anna seems different, it's not clear he can overcome his insecurities to find true happiness with her.