Beginners

It's very unfortunate that Brighton Rock had finished its run so fast and now I'll have to see if I will ever get to watch it, maybe as inflight entertainment. So V and I opted for the newly opened Beginners, being fans of Ewan McGregor. I believe the last show we watched of him was I Love You Philip Morris.

The show is about Oliver (Ewan McGregor), whose father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), had passed away a few months ago. He is filled with memories of his father who, following 44 years of marriage and his wife's death, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The only confidante he had was his father's dog, a Jack Russell whom he talks to, which was also grieving. While nursing his grief, Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable actress, Anna (Melanie Laurent) at a party his friends drags him to, whom he falls head over heels in love with. They hook up but both come with burdens from the past that seek to make it not work out.

Though at 104 minutes, the show felt a bit long. This was probably due to the fact that it was rather slow-moving, where things between Oliver and Anna never seem to get a move on, between Oliver's flashbacks of memories of his father. But even so, it was poignant as the two were unsure of how to handle this kind of real love. There was a scene where while chatting, Oliver asks Anna how she does it, always jetting around and living a life seemingly without any ties. She replies something to the effect of "I guess it makes it easier to leave people behind". And he responds with "sometimes, you can stay in a place and still leave people behind". *sigh*
Another quotable phrase later on, was when things weren't really going well between them. Oliver says something like "sometimes you believe that things won't work out, so you make sure it doesn't work out". But of course, he decides otherwise in the end and looks for Anna.

I think it ended quite nicely, when the two of them decide to start over again and explore this new experience together and put their baggages behind.

Oliver: So, what happens now?
Anna: I don't know.

Now I see why the show was called Beginners.

To add, the Jack Russell was so cute! And it can really act. Haha...the injected conversation (through subtitles) that he has with Oliver were funny.