Beginners (2010)

So good! With a moving story, fine acting, wonderful music, and interesting sets and locations, this story of a man, Oliver, dealing with his mother's death, his father's subsequent coming out at 75, and a new relationship of his own greatly entertained Jack and me (and a roomful of others) last Saturday. Ewan McGregor (after I wrote about my favorites in The Men Who Stare at Goats he starred as The Ghost Writer) beautifully carries the movie as the melancholy Oliver, Christopher Plummer (I wrote about him in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and then he was Oscar-nominated for The Last Station) is ebullient as Oliver's father Hal (we both loved the scene in the trailer where Hal goes to his note pad to write down "house music"), and Mélanie Laurent (Paris, Inglourious Basterds) is great as Anna, the mysterious woman that Oliver meets at the coolest costume party ever (well, it takes place in L.A. and they are both cool people, though they don't think so, which is even cooler). The most important supporting players are Goran Visnjic (best known for ER, he was also great in Practical Magic (1998) and The Deep End (2001), among others, and will be seen along with Plummer in the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo later this year) as Andy, Hal's younger lover; Mary Page Keller (a lot of TV roles) as Oliver's mother in flashbacks; and a Jack Russell terrier named Cosmo (see this featurette--no spoilers) as Arthur, Hal's dog. I have found a list of Jack Russell movies/dog movies, but it includes a detail about Beginners that could be a spoiler, so perhaps you should wait until you see the movie to click through to read it.

Director/writer Mike Mills' feature debut Thumbsucker (2005) was really good and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. His own father came out at age 75 and Mills is also a graphic designer and CD cover artist like Oliver; in fact he himself did the drawings featured in the movie. With a resumé like his I'm sure he's been to plenty of über-cool Hollywood parties himself, and now that I've seen his blog (check out the videos!) I know just how awesome he is. For those familiar with Los Angeles here's a little something about the locations, too (I was right that that was Dodger Stadium in the background in one or two shots). Even better is Mills' own photo essay on the locations.

From this link you can stream the excellent soundtrack (until it's removed, as I suspect it will be, because the soundtrack is for sale) and read about the influences that prompted Mills to pick and inspire the tracks with composers Roger Neill, Dave Palmer, and Brian Reitzell. Do see this. If you don't trust Jack's and my recommendation, know that imdb viewers have given it 7.5 out of 10 and rottentomatoes' critics 83% and their audiences 81%.