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Beginners

BEGINNERS written and directed by Mike Mills, with Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor and Mélanie Laurent. 105 minutes. An Alliance release. Opens Friday (June 17). See listing Rating: NNNN


In this terribly tender drama, graphic artist Oliver (Ewan McGregor) is still getting over the death of his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer). Grief is making it hard for him to connect emotionally with anything but his dog. And even the arrival of a smart and sexy actor (Mélanie Laurent) can’t get him charged up.

The film has a clever narrative strategy. Flashbacks in which Hal, who’s come out of the closet since his wife passed away, shows a lust for life, gay politics and creativity, even as he’s dying, contrast sharply with present-day scenes in which Oliver struggles in his heavy funk. Can he learn something from Hal’s late-life vitality?

McGregor and Laurent are terrific, but the real marvel here is Christopher Plummer, who plunges gleefully into the role of gay rogue. You’ve never seen him like this.

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