Beginners

"This is what love feels like."

2011 1h 45m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 1,182

DramaRomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.

“This is what love feels like.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ewan McGregor
Oliver Fields
Christopher Plummer
Hal Fields
Mélanie Laurent
Anna Wallace
Goran Višnjić
Andy
Kai Lennox
Elliot
Mary Page Keller
Georgia Fields
Keegan Boos
Young Oliver
China Shavers
Shauna

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Mills
Writers: Mike Mills
Languages: English, French
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Mills, shot by Kasper Tuxen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Brian Reitzell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer and Mélanie Laurent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Mills directs. Kasper Tuxen behind the camera. Brian Reitzell scores. Olivier Bugge Coutté cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
3Released 15 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
5Directed by Mike Mills, shot by Kasper Tuxen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Brian Reitzell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer and Mélanie Laurent carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "This is what love feels like.".
10IMDB entry: tt1532503 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kasper Tuxen
Original score: Brian Reitzell
Editing: Olivier Bugge Coutté
Production design: Shane Valentino
Costume design: Jennifer Johnson
Makeup / hair: Tina Roesler Kerwin
Sound: Leslie Shatz
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,200,000
Box office: $14,311,701
Return: 447% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Beginners (2011)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Mike Mills

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2013-09-03
★ 8/10
A really delightful drama with superb performances and a great editing.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-09-06
★ 4/10
The movie works well, but there are some details in the story told that, to me, make little sense. Am sorry. Generally, I don't really like films that are too apologetic, that is, films that use cinema to advocate and defend causes, political ideas, social movements. It's OK to be part of the plot of a movie, but to make a movie for defense/publicity of these ideas is another very different thing. When I started to see this movie, I was scared to find just another movie defending the gay lobby, and its social and political flags. Well, now that I'm done, I'm relieved that my fears didn't go beyond that. The film has a fairly regular script, which seeks to tell an interesting story, focused on how a man begins a very passionate relationship with a charming Frenchwoman he has just met. He was very depressed because of the recent death of his father, and while the film tells us how the couple evolves in their new relationship, it also tells us how was, lately, the relationship between him and his father who, shortly after widowing, decides to tell his son that he is sick and is going to die of cancer and, moreover, that despite having been married, he has been a homosexual all his life, suffering at the cost of that secret and having a secret boyfriend. The strong point of the film is not only the dramatic story told (I never felt it was a comedy, as some say, despite having few funny moments in between), but also the original way in which it is told to us, with flashbacks and in a very visual way, using photographs and a very visual and interesting narrative style. There are certain moments when I felt that the narrator (the son) was actually presenting slides to the audience, which is us. And with that, I felt that Mike Mills, the director, took a calculated risk, and it turned out very well. Unfortunately, I felt that the homosexual subplot is not as credible. I simply cannot conceive how such a sick and elderly man would be in a loving relationship with someone who is almost his son's age. It's not a situation I can believe in… not because it's a gay relationship… but because of the age difference and health situation. In addition to the good story and the elegant way in which it is told, the film brings us a luxurious cast of great actors, with an evident highlight for the veteran Christopher Plummer, who gives us a moving and extremely worthy portrait of that father. By his side, and equally impactful and powerful, Ewan McGregor, in one of the strongest works I remember seeing him do. And this is not an understatement, as we know that McGregor is a great actor, and he has already proved to us what he can do on other occasions. Melanie Laurent, fresh out of "Inglorious Bast…ds”, has another excellent work here, although her character is not as remarkable and interesting as the two male leads. Goran Visnjic, unfortunately, has the most thankless role. I felt like he's really the most in the movie. Technically, the film is discreet, but effective, and bets a lot on interesting and well-crafted cinematography, with visuals that we can appreciate as the film unfolds. The editing is good, the pace is pleasant, and the sets and costumes are within what we could have expected to find. The soundtrack doesn't stand out or stand out.