Beginners

Oliver Fields is a Los Angeles illustrator navigating grief and romance after the death of his father, Hal. Hal had come out as gay at 75, following more than four decades of marriage, and spent his remaining years embracing a new life that included a younger boyfriend. Months after Hal's death, Oliver meets Anna, an unpredictable French actress, and their relationship unfolds alongside his memories of his father's late bloom.

Mike Mills wrote and directed the film, his third feature after Paperboys and Thumbsucker. Ewan McGregor plays Oliver, Christopher Plummer plays Hal, and Mélanie Laurent plays Anna, with Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox and Mary Page Keller among the credited cast of 33. The production companies include Focus Features, Parts and Labor and Olympus Pictures.

Beginners mixes comedy, drama and romance across its 105-minute runtime. Made for about 3 million dollars, it earned roughly 14 million dollars worldwide, a solid return on its modest budget. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from around 97,000 votes, while TMDB shows 6.8 from just over a thousand. Critics gave it 7.5 from 157 reviews, a warmer response than the audience score on TMDB.