Beginners (2010)

5/5

loved it.

so much.

it's almost too perfect a movie. from top to bottom i loved everything about it. the look, the music, the flashbacks, the characters, their personalities, their eccentricities, their charm, their clothes, their homes, their expressions, their voices, their love.

the movie is quiet, and enchanting, and whimsical, and creative, and quirky, and sigh.

EVERYTHING.

Ewan McGregor as Oliver, a man who is coping with the death of his father, Hal (played charmingly by Christopher Plummer) who has come out of the closet to his son after his wife's death. the film swings back and forth, from past to present to past, and looks at Oliver's relationship with his mother (the scenes between Oliver as a child and his mum are great, so fun), his relationship with his dad, as well as with his newest love interest, Anna (Mélanie Laurent - you will remember her from Inglorious Bastards (2009) "Au revoir, Shoshanna!!!"). Anna is a French actress who’s got some baggage but has so much girlfriend potential.

OMG.

i love how Oliver and Anna meet at the costume party...

i love Oliver's costume choice.

i love the couch scene.

i love that Anna has laryngitis.

what a great night. a perfect night. a perfect party. it's one of those parties you wish you could be at because you want to be on that couch talking (or not - laryngitis) to someone like Oliver.

and Arthur, Oliver's thinking/talking dog, is such a sweet, different, and whimsical touch. he's there for Oliver as a true companion. i absolutely died when Arthur mistook one of the hotel guests as Hal... such a small perfect moment. i like how Oliver speaks to Arthur like a person. no coochie-coo's here. i also really like that Arthur is like Oliver's inner voice - he's there for every major decision, moment, and thought. adorable.

as i watched this film, i kept having the sense that all of the relationships i was observing seem to be so complicated but somehow also easy. and so loving but so hard. and so real. the movie feels very real. dammit, it's just too charming. you won't be slapping your knee laughing, but you will be smiling. and awwing. and your heart will break a million times, but in a sweet way, not a suicidal way.

it's an exquisite pain.

i can't wait to see it again.