Beginners (2011)

This was an odd little film
Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) is very sad. His father, Hal (Christopher Plummer) has just died and he is in a deep, depressive funk. He is devastated by his father's death but is also still trying to come to terms with how Hal lived his life, devoted to his late wife though soon after her death, he fully came out of the closet and embraced his new identity, getting very involved with gay rights and such. He even gained a much younger lover, Andy (Goran Visnijc) whom he loved very much despite his unfaithfulness. Oliver is neutral to the relationship and after Hal's death, mostly gives Andy the cold shoulder, never mind that Andy is grieving also.
Fortunately, his friends force him to attend a costume party where he goes as Sigmund Freud and people actually seek him out for advice including the actress, Anna (Melanie Laurent). The relationship starts off with such hope and she seems happy though things soon grow stale. She moves in with him but doesn't seem happy. Despite both of them having a bad track record with relationships, they don't work it out so it ends. Oliver, however, then decides to try and fix it and then the film simply ends.
The unspoken star of the film is Hal's beloved dog, Arthur, who even narrates some of the film through subtitles, including stating that Oliver's relationship with Anna never stood a chance. Anna is damaged too, with her father having suicidal thoughts often.
Though the film is lovely, I didn't like the squishy ending, leaving everything up in the air. I also wanted the characters to be happy and they really weren't, except for a few select flashbacks. But McGregor and Plummer were perfect, especially in the scene where Hal reveals that his wife had proposed to him despite suspecting that he was gay and believing that she could fix him. This is the true shock of Oliver's life. Plummer finally won his Oscar for this film and it was much deserved. Also, the writer/director of this film, Mike Mills, should do more work as this film certainly is quite good especially in the mechanics. I just wish that everyone could have pulled themselves out of their grief at the end, but alas, that doesn't appear to be the case. And that's a shame, everyone should be happy. I wish Oliver was able to live his life as Hal was, blissful and full of life. Grade: B+