Beginners 4K 2010 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

After his mother’s death, Oliver learns some unexpected news from his father. It turns out his father had been gay his whole life. He realized this as a teenager, but due to the prejudices of the time, he was forced to get married. And now he plans to change and start his life over. New clothes, new friends, new hobbies, new love.

Review 4K Movie

To truly appreciate this movie, it’s important to meet one condition—get yourself in the right mood. Because if you start watching it late at night, it might lull you right to sleep—just as it did to me, someone who dozed off about halfway through. And it’s not that the movie isn’t interesting; it’s just that it was past midnight, and the pacing was extremely slow.

"Beginners" is a lighthearted take on arthouse cinema, unburdened by all sorts of symbolism that not everyone understands or the various trappings of the genre—like dinosaurs, meteorites, and talking wolves—that Terrence Malick and Lars von Trier love. Instead, we get charming slideshows about stars, the sun, beauty, pets, and presidents from different eras. Add to that themes of homosexuality, eccentric relationships, and a fair amount of pleasant dialogue, and you get the description I used to characterize the film at the beginning of this paragraph.

On screen, Mélanie Laurent is very sweet, somewhat strange, and very French. Ewan McGregor complemented her perfectly with his vulnerability and “fluffy” demeanor. Together, they created some very vivid chemistry—not in the sense of a scorching passion, but rather a pleasant harmony of souls.

After watching it, I’m left with a gentle aftertaste. This is a very unconventional film—in other words, it’s not for everyone. I can’t say that I’m brimming with emotions after experiencing the film in two stages, but I was left with a positive impression.