BEGINNERS (USA 2010) ***
Directed Mike Mills

What would you do if your 70-year old father came out of the closet so that he can live his gay life practically and no more theoretically?  In the case of 38-year old, Oliver (Ewan McGregor), the answer is to go into recluse. 

He is unable to accept his father Hal’s (Christopher Plummer) new happiness and new boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic) as he starts having problems with his own newly found girlfriend (Melanie Laurent from INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS).  As the film title implies, both father and son are beginners in their new relationships.  Director Mills tells the twin stories of the two, while infusing lots of sentiment, hilarity and heartfelt emotions all at the same time.  Humour is provided, mainly in the form of Oliver’s Jack Russell who can understand about 150 words of English.  Everyone once in a while, his thoughts are indicated to the audience via word balloons.

But Mill’s emphasis is how the father’s coming out affects his son’s life.  Mills lays all the cards on the table in he film’s first 10 minutes, talking about the father’s coming out and 4 years of living before dying of cancer, then flashbacks to relate what happens in between, which is the film’s focus.  Plummer is utterly harming in his role while McGregor delivers an understated but effective performance.  This is McGregor’s second gay role after I LOVE YOU, PHILLIP MORRIS.

The dialogue is clever at times.  At stage 4 cancer, Hal says it all means that the cancer has passed 3 stages while Oliver pessimistically says that there is no Stage 5.  The script also contains an unexpected twist when Hal talks about his marriage of 44 years to Oliver.

But though Mill’s film is never short on charm, his film lacks depth and insight. For example, the reason for Hal’s really late coming out is not satisfying.  I first saw the film at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and though I liked the film, could hardly recall anything about it.