What would you do if your father announced, after 44 years of marriage to your mother, and shortly after her death, that he was gay? It’s an event that Oliver (Ewan McGregor) has to deal with in the new trailer for Mike Mills’ Beginners, which is now online over at Apple.
Mills’ film finds Oliver trying to sort himself out: on the one hand, he’s just fallen for the alluring Anna, played by Inglourious Basterds’ Melanie Laurent. But he’s already reeling from his father (Christopher Plummer) dropping the bombshell about his homosexuality, which is complicated further by the announcement that he has terminal cancer.
However, realising how his father was transformed and enlivened by embracing newfound love, Oliver decides that he’s going to use the experience as a lesson in how to live life to the fullest.
Given that Mills’ first movie was Thumbsucker, there was every chance that this new outing could have veered off into overly quirksome territory. And while the idea of the text-talking dog has us slightly worried, the presence of the leads gives us hope that it’ll be a solidly acted indie piece about love, relationships, parents, children and life in general. Plus the sight of Christopher Plummer boogieing on down in a gay club is one that would make anyone smile.
Take a look at the trailer over at Apple and decide for yourself. Beginners has a June 3 release set for the States, but there's no sign of a UK date yet.