Review of Beginners (2011) by Arnold K — 26 Mar 2012

I tell you what "Beginners" is incredibly charming. It has a wit and is immensely clever. This film tries to tell a very sincere story about life and how we can't keep waiting for the perfect people/situation to enjoy it. We should go out and live. If we wait and over analyze everything we'd miss out the sheer joy of being alive. It's the little things that are important and it's the little things that make this film charming.

The directing and edit is really clever. With some really nice shots. I really like how they compare and contrast our modern world to that of the 50's. The director intelligently composes everything with a lot of wit and adds charming elements to make us intrigued and we begin to question the status quo. I liked how cleverly the movie jumps between different periods in time and shows how the past has an effect in how we react to things later on in life.

I really liked the actors in this movie, they epitomize the charm and wit this film has. Ewan McGregor is fantastic and it shows how much of an under appreciated gem of an actor he is. He has a gravitating personality that just absorbs you into his character. He's genuine and very charming. The show stealer is definitely Christopher Plummer, this guy is just amazing. Every scene he presented with class and a very clever wit. He was charming and incredibly likable. He was funny and just very pleasant to watch on screen. Now the girl on the other hand, Melanie Laurent, she wasn't bad, but her accent was really hard to understand in many crucial points of the movie. However her chemistry with Ewan McGregors character was just pure bliss. They were real and felt very much like a true relationship. Unfortunately this feeling was lost towards the end of the film. But another show stealer is the dog, who is just great and very well casted. He's cute and adds to the whole charm of the movie.

The script is very smart, but I feel the film begins losing itself towards the end. It becomes to artsy and some characters aren't defined well enough, like the mom. It felt towards the third act the movie began losing some of its charm and was just going through emotions. I became very slow and felt like it was going on longer than it actually was. The romance began to feel more forced and unnatural and the only part of the movie that was consistent was the scenes with Christopher Plummer.

Overall, I think I like "Beginners". While the actors are incredible and the movie is witty and incredibly charming, it begins to lose itself towards the end. Losing some of the genuineness that it established early on. I give it a very high 3/5, witty and charming, well performed, but it loses itself near the end that it leaves you sort of unsatisfied.

I recommend people check out 'Beginners." It is a fun and can be really enlightening, but be warned the last act drags on. Film enthusiasts will love it and most average movie goers will be fairly mixed.

"Alrightness".