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IMDbPro

Beginners

  • 20102010
  • RR
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
93K
YOUR RATING
Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, and Cosmo in Beginners (2010)
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.
Play trailer2:32
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
93K
YOUR RATING
    • Mike Mills
    • Mike Mills
  • Stars
    • Ewan McGregor
    • Christopher Plummer
    • Mélanie Laurent
    • Mike Mills
    • Mike Mills
  • Stars
    • Ewan McGregor
    • Christopher Plummer
    • Mélanie Laurent
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 179User reviews
    • 180Critic reviews
    • 81Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos2

    Beginners: Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:32
    Watch Beginners: Trailer #1
    Beginners
    Featurette 3:42
    Watch Beginners

    Photos233

    Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Christopher Plummer in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Cosmo in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent, and Cosmo in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Mélanie Laurent in Beginners (2010)
    Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer in Beginners (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ewan McGregor
    Ewan McGregor
    • Oliver
    Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer
    • Hal
    Mélanie Laurent
    Mélanie Laurent
    • Anna
    Goran Visnjic
    Goran Visnjic
    • Andy
    Kai Lennox
    Kai Lennox
    • Elliot
    Mary Page Keller
    Mary Page Keller
    • Georgia
    Keegan Boos
    Keegan Boos
    • Young Oliver
    China Shavers
    China Shavers
    • Shauna
    Melissa Tang
    Melissa Tang
    • Liz
    Amanda Payton
    Amanda Payton
    • Party Person
    Luke Diliberto
    • Green Witch
    Lou Taylor Pucci
    Lou Taylor Pucci
    • Magician
    Bambadjan Bamba
    Bambadjan Bamba
    • The Sads
    Hana Hwang
    • The Sads
    Samuel T. Ritter
    • The Sads
    Jennifer Lauren
    Jennifer Lauren
    • Record Company Rep
    Reynaldo Pacheco
    Reynaldo Pacheco
    • Julio
    Jodi Long
    Jodi Long
    • Dr. Long
      • Mike Mills
      • Mike Mills
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film is partly autobiographical, in that many of the events that happen to Hal and Oliver are based on Mike Mills' own father having begun a gay relationship after Mike's mother died.
    • Goofs
      On Hal Fields' death certificate, it says "Date of death: 09/17/04". We know from the movie that he's already passed away in 2003.
    • Quotes

      Anna: Why do you leave everyone? Why did you let me go?

      Oliver: Maybe because I... I don't really believe that it's gonna work, and then I make sure that it doesn't work.

    • Connections
      Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.19 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Stardust
      Written by Hoagy Carmichael and by Mitchell Parish

      Performed by Hoagy Carmichael

      Courtesy of Geffen Records

      Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

    User reviews179

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Weird but wonderful
    BEGINNERS is not an easy film. It's very 'talky' and jumps almost randomly between Oliver's boyhood, Hal's coming out and getting sick, and Oliver's on-off affair with zany Anna. Although set in sunny California, there are many under-lit scenes reminiscent of French New Wave cinema or early Woody Allens. Key episodes are, almost perversely, missing. Hal is largely absent from Oliver's mother-dominated boyhood; he later admits to having sex in mens-rooms but we don't see any of that. We see his decline and death but not his wife's. We are not shown any of Oliver's life between boyhood and his father's 'liberation'.

    The performances are nothing less than brilliant. Christopher Plummer, plunging into gay life in his seventies and dying with curmudgeonly dignity, will very likely be nominated for an Oscar and miss out (like Colin Firth going down the gay road in A SINGLE MAN). Ewan McGregor gets perfectly under the skin of Oliver, who finds it easier to love his gay dad than commit to a new girlfriend. And Melanie Laurent's Anna is beguiling and disturbing; the viewer to feel what Oliver feels: you want to love her but something holds you back.

    There is also a scene-stealing Jack Russell, Arthur, the love of Hal's life who becomes the love of Oliver's. A talking dog! – that is to say, writer/director Mike Mills gives Arthur subtitled thoughts every now and again. Kind of weird and kind of wonderful – kind of like the movie.
    helpful•18
    13
    • davidgee
    • Aug 5, 2011

    FAQ1

    • Is this film based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 9, 2011 (Germany)
      • United States
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Olympus Pictures
      • Parts and Labor
      • Northwood Productions (II)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 45 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS

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