Beginners

Sometimes you just have to take things as they come.

On the way to the movie I saw a guy on Queen Street in a monster mask being filmed by two other guys. When I saw him I immediately felt a bit irritated, and willed him not to do something funny to me, exhaling in relief when I got past him without incident. Then I heard Vincent's Mum behind me, chuckling at him, and thought Man, I need to Chill Out.

So I tried, and so Beginners was a pretty enjoyable time. It's a beautifully shot, non-linear story about what we have to overcome to have love; a brave old man who commits his last years to finding a love more complete than that of his marriage, and his son who wants love but fears it. The first story is my favourite; Christopher Plummer and Goran Visnjic are perfectly cast and their story simple and touching. The latter could be incredibly irritating; people in life and in movies who won't fight for what they want, especially when it is a person, frustrate me no end. (I realised during the film that my reaction to this type of person is shaped by how I love, and that examining how and why I love the way I do through the example of my parents is part of the point of the film.) However, the poignance of Ewan McGregor's character Oliver's flashbacks, his acting, and the quiet direction meant this wasn't the case. All I felt was his loss, and his fear, and the sense that he was trying.

There were a few moments where I rolled my eyes (sad people often go to parties, but people who can't speak because of laryngitis? And who have no friends because they are transient actors? How did they know to dress up?) but when I think about the film, I remember the bits that made me laugh and the bits that made me cry. I only remember looking up at the stars on the ceiling twice (and really, even in a great movie it's hard not to sneak a peek just to remind yourself you're at the Civic), and when we went to bed and picked apart the bits we didn't like, Vincent and I both agreed we liked it. And that we would very much like to have a little dog with whom we can communicate telepathically.

Image from collider.com