THE ASTOR REVIEW

A far cry from the sappy, saccharine Indie trite the trailers might have you fooled into thinking it is, Beginners is an entirely honest and desperately earnest examination of how individuals construct and keep alive their own subjectivity amidst the sea of confusion that life necessarily submerges us in. A simple but effective dramatic comedy which really allows McGregor and Laurent to shine as they present two troubled individuals trying their hardest not to give in to fears and anxieties in the wake of hope and true companionship. TJ

IMDB SYNOPSIS

It's 2003. Thirty-eight year old graphic artist Oliver Fields has just lost his father Hal Fields to cancer, after Oliver's mother Georgia Fields passed away five years earlier. Oliver is naturally a sullen man due to his growing up relationship with his parents (his mother who had a unique view on life) and watching his parents' cordial but somewhat distant relationship with each other, but is more so now because of his personal family loss. Oliver embarks on a relationship with Anna, a French actress. Oliver is hoping that his re-energized relationship with Hal following Georgia's death and Hal's new outlook on life during that time will show Oliver how to act in a loving relationship. After Georgia's death, Hal came out of the closet and began to live with a joie de vivre that did not exist before, which included an open relationship with a much younger man named Andy. Oliver's relationship with Anna has other obstacles, including Anna's own vagabond lifestyle and Oliver needing to take care of who was originally Hal's very needy Jack Russell terrier, Arthur.