Congrats to the amazing people who deserved (and won) an Oscar last night - Bret McKenzie (Best Achievement in Music Written for The Muppets), Christopher Plummer (Best Supporting Actor for Beginners), Jim Rash (Best Screenplay for The Descendents) and Gore Verbinski (Best Animated Feature for Rango). 

The trailer for Beginners is perfect. It tells you everything you need to know and sets up the idea of the film perfectly.

Beginners is a story about Ewan McGregor’s character Oliver, who’s life has become stagnant. He has no noticeable love life or attachments, and his father has just come out of the closet.

The film deals with a lot of identity issues. Identities of self, others, and the notion of what it takes to make someone happy and what being happy constitutes. It’s a little on the slow side, but otherwise I thought it was a really nice film. Christopher Plummer’s role as Oliver’s father is played perfectly without over-emphasizing or “playing up” the fact that he’s gay. The new experiences he’s discovering and the life he never had the opportunity to enjoy is genuine, and as a viewer you really feel for these characters.

I’m not usually a fan of dramas, but I really thought this one was great and definitely recommend seeing it.

Buy it on Amazon.ca:
Beginners (DVD + Blu-ray Combo Pack)