‘Beginners’ is a powerful little film that pulsates with emotion

Writer-director Mike Mills has taken the details of his own life and created a moving independent film featuring fine performances from Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent. After spending 105 minutes with these characters, one learns to love their company and appreciate their struggles in life.

Oliver (McGregor) is a man in need of some inspiration. Through clever narration, we come to learn that Oliver has a dog named Arthur (a Jack Russell terrier that thinks in subtitles), has a job as a successful graphic artist, has lost both his parents, has never had a meaningful relationship, and is a tad depressed over his current lot in life. These facts are said in an almost rhythmic fashion as if they were universal truths. Mills’ film is very matter of fact; when something is said, often a corresponding image appears on the screen. In some ways, his directorial style seems influenced by Wes Anderson’s similar creativity.

The reason Oliver is unable to change his present trajectory is because he’s still mourning the death of his father, Hal (Plummer), a man who dropped a bombshell four years before his death. Even though ‘happily’ married to Oliver’s mother for several decades, Hal was a gay man, and for the last few years of his life, he chose to explore his sexuality with a new partner (Andy, played by Goran Visnjic). What makes Hal’s story an unfortunately sad one is that shortly after his announcement, the doctors told him he had terminal lung cancer.

As we witness Hal’s final years, we simultaneously watch Oliver’s own story unfold months after his father’s death. The single graphic artist finds solace with Anna (Laurent, who is best known for Inglourious Basterds), a young woman he meets at a costume party. Their burgeoning relationship is treated with as much dignity as Hal’s final years.

There’s also an ongoing sequence involving Oliver as a young child and the games he would play with his mother, Georgia (Mary Page Keller). Hal and his wife apparently had an understanding, but from the few scenes Georgia appears in, the audience learns that maybe the mismatched couple wasn’t all that happy.

Parallel storylines have been done before. Cancer storylines have been done before. Coming-out storylines have been done before. Relationship storylines, involving boyfriends and girlfriends or fathers and sons, have been done before. But Beginners is a cut above the rest because it presents its characters in as welcoming a manner as possible. Mills enjoys close-ups of each actor, as they wear their emotions on their faces and in their eyes. He also enjoys the serenity of silence. When Oliver and Anna talk endlessly while lying in bed, their conversations meander and float around the room. The film is extremely truthful in its depictions. These are real people — talking, crying, living, dying. Mills has a beautiful writing style, and his words feel organic when uttered by these three fine actors.

McGregor offers a nicely reserved performance. In many ways, his character needs to hold the film together, because Oliver is the connective tissue for all of the action. It is his arc that takes center stage. McGregor, who can certainly pull off flashy portrayals, grounds Oliver in a depression that is palpable. It’s difficult not to be influenced by his wan personality. Laurent makes for a perfect match. The French actress has an exotic beauty in the film, and she proves to be a character that challenges Oliver to brighten up and see the positives in life.

Plummer, a Hollywood and stage legend, gives one of his finest performances in years. The role is pivotal, and the actor is able to convince the audience of his raw emotions, from joy over his acceptance to weakening strength over his mortality. It’s a memorable turn from a memorable actor.

Mills, who serves as the inspiration for Oliver, has made a rewarding independent film that proves to be a confluence of perfection. His directing style is clever and off-beat, and his script is vacant of weak points. One could quibble that his characters are impossibly benign with few negative attributes, but the smile that one attains after watching Beginners forgives and forgets all faults. This one is a gem.

• Beginners

• 2011

• Written and directed by Mike Mills

• Starring Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent

• Running time: 105 minutes

• Rated R for language and some sexual content

• Rating:

• Click here to purchase Beginners on DVD.