Hard Light Cinema

Set in Los Angeles in 2003, Beginners flips between two timelines, both concerned with love and loss. We follow Oliver (Ewan McGregor) as he navigates the final years of his father Hal’s (Christopher Plummer) life, who has recently come out as gay. We also follow the developing love Oliver has for a woman named Anna (Mélanie Laurent) whom he meets at a costume party after Hal’s death.

The film serves as a beautiful backdrop for reflection. Mills serves up a series of visual meditations on what it means to live, to love, to find a community. At times the film reads more like a diary entry from his own life rather than a story he is trying to tell. The earnestness of his vulnerability through his characters and the story is beyond commendable. When looking at my own life and what I want in my own work, I can’t help being moved by his commitment to exploring the bonds that drive us.

— Kyle M-B, Hard Light Cinema

This film is the next entry in our series of staff picks! Thank you to Kyle for this heartwarming suggestion ❤️

Entry is pay-what-you-can, but we ask for a suggested donation of $10 to help cover licensing fees :)