Vital changes are always complicated to process, although the most complicated aspect of the whole process is, precisely, accepting them. Acceptance is somewhat easier said than doneeven with all the will in the world. But it is necessary, only in this way can we aspire to that elusive ideal that we have decided to call happiness.
Probably one of the best examples of the acceptance processin various aspects – including an aspect of the life of a parent or the death of another -, is in ‘Beginners‘, an exquisite independent jewel of Mike Mills with some magnificent Ewan McGregor Y Christopher Plummer. And from today we can see it on Netflix.
How to be happy
‘Beginners’ follows Oliver, played by McGregor, in three different periods of his life. In one, his mother has passed away and his father (Plummer) confesses to him that he is homosexual and that he has been living in the closet all his life. In another, his father has passed away and he suddenly meets an interesting young woman (Melanie Laurent). The other period is small flashbacks of his life before these events, scattered throughout the film.
Prior to this project, Mills’s career had been narrowed down to a series of visual projects for musicians, including directing videos for the likes of Moby, Yoko Ono either Air, and also the movie ‘Thumbsucker (Hitchhiking)’. With this, he made a resounding leap like great independent director of American cinema of the 21st centurymaking a deep drama without the need to fall into easy tear-producing tendencies.
Because here he is able to touch very deep emotions, without avoiding complexities or dark nuances but allowing room for other tones and colors, both in the narrative and visually. Because we are talking about a film that touches on dueling at various points, but does not wallow in sadness or the pain of loss. Instead, it puts an interesting focus on the process and the prospect of getting to the end and being a little better than when you started.
‘Beginners’: the value of discovering
The film does not fall into the obvious either when it comes to presenting what the revelation of the father to his son means. In fact, the conflict is minimal and instead allows space for your parent-child relationship to be strengthened through honesty. This is a beautiful film about two people aspiring to be happy and, hopefully, try to achieve it from personal acceptance.
McGregor and Plummer are both excellent at playing these rich and interesting characters, with the latter landing an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor that rightly recognized his work.
How Mills approaches all of this from unobvious perspectives, and also without the slightest intention of judging, just discovering what the characters discover at the same pace as them, makes ‘Beginners’ an invaluable film. One of the best films of that first decade of the 21st century, and almost of these almost two and a half decades. It is a gem that deserves to be discovered if you have not already done so.