Beginners (2011)
84%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Wearing its twee heart on its sleeve, Beginners explores the depths of modern, multi-generational romance with wit and depth
Beginners is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with a dog. Yes, you read that right, the dog steals the show. But don’t worry, Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent are also fantastic in their roles. The movie is a delicate balance of tenderness and humor, and it manages to avoid being too sentimental. It’s a perfect movie to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a box of tissues and your furry friend by your side.
Production Company(ies)
B S B C I P Lorimar Film Entertainment,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39:1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 3, 2011 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2011
Genre(s)
Drama/LGBTQ+
Keyword(s)
starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, directed by Mike Mills, written by Mike Mills, drama, LGBTQ+, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Candice Frederick, Amy Taubin, Nell Minow, Jim Schembri, Tom Ryan, Jason Adams, Richard Crouse, Richard Propes, Felicia Feaster, produced by Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Miranda de Pencier, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, R rating, romance, father-son relationship, coming out, grief, loneliness, commitment, art, artist, actress, terminal cancer, childhood memories, dog, indie film, multi-generational romance, wit, depth
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Christopher Plummer – Hal
Mélanie Laurent – Anna
Goran Visnjic – Andy
Kai Lennox – Elliot
Mary Page Keller – Georgia
Director – Mike Mills
Producers – Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Miranda de Pencier, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen
Writer – Mike Mills
Director(s)
Mike Mills
Writer(s)
Mike Mills
Producer(s)
Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Miranda de Pencier, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen
Film Festivals
South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Winners
All Critics (162) | Top Critics (59) | Fresh (138) | Rotten (24)
It’s OK, I suppose, and quite sweet. But I couldn’t love it for proper, probably because its characters are always more interested in themselves than we are in them, plus it’s just too self-consciously tricksy.
August 31, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
… at its core, Beginners is about finding happiness, even at the end.
September 8, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
Mike Mills treats love and loss with a disarming tenderness and a refusal of sentimentality that make Beginners, his second feature, something of an anomaly among male identity flicks. What a finely wrought, wryly funny, transcendently sad movie this is.
July 12, 2013
Amy Taubin
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
February 18, 2012 | Rating: B+
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
A quietly moving, delicately mounted romantic drama that touches the heart with resorting to melodrama or an over-reliance on conflict.
October 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Beginners is perceptive, funny and moving.
August 25, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Tom Ryan
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Lovely. Graceful. Finely tuned into those characters, warts and all
July 2, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
Topping off the tender tale is the cutest on-screen dog since Benji who provides unique insight into Oliver’s emotional maturation.
January 31, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
At the very least, an Independent Spirit Award nomination should be assured here as Plummer embodies soulfulness and celebration and remarkable humanity all at once.
September 2, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Beginners manages to charm despite a tendency toward art-house cuddliness.
January 17, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
The result is a ton of laughter, tears, a surprising out-of-character performance by Goran Visnjic as Plummer’s boyfriend, and an adorable canine with more personality than most people.
March 6, 2019
Amie Simon
Three Imaginary Girls
McGregor and Laurent are outstanding.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner…
Plot
Writing the perfect suicide note isn’t easy. Murdering a garage full of people is also pretty hard. But getting your victims to like you while you kill them, that’s the really tricky part.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film in the Fresh Kernels database for Beginners.
Mike-Mills.jpg
