Why hello, favorite indie trailer of the year so far, how are you?
No, really, this writer has just had his pants charmed off and note, this is coming from someone that feels Ewan McGregor has really fallen off his game in the last several years. But damn, if the trailer for Mike Mills‘ sophomore feature “Beginners” hasn’t knocked our socks off. Mills directed the underrated “Thumbsucker,” which some find cloying, but has a wonderfully earnest and refreshing sense of optimism to it. “Beginners” is a film that our writers missed at the Toronto International Film Festival last year but totally wanted to see (schedules), it received some very admirable praise when it debuted there and Focus Features quickly snatched it up, slotting it in “The Kids Are All Right“-like counter-programming slot of June 3 (hey, they scored an Oscar nomination, so that ploy obviously worked amidst all the tentpole clutter). It looks equally smart, warm and bittersweet.
Co-starring Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent (of “Inglourious Basterds“), “Beginners” focuses on a young man (McGregor ) who is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father (Plummer): that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover. Laurent plays McGregor’s girlfriend in what looks like a beguilingly humanistic picture and a hard look at love, life, death and relationships. Frankly, it looks fucking great and we can’t wait to see it. Hopefully you feel the same way. The film looks like it has its clever moments, but the trailer doesn’t suggest that the dramedy will beat you over the head with its little creative tricks.
Official synopsis, new teaser poster (which will likely change with actors‘ faces eventually) and a link to the trailer below, plus a few teaser scene clips we unveiled last year.
From writer/director Mike Mills comes a comedy/drama about how deeply funny and transformative life can be, even at its most serious moments. -Beginners- imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Golden Globe Award nominee Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds) only months after his father Hal (Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father who – following 44 years of marriage – came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him
Watch the full trailer over at Apple or watch the trailer below. “Beginners” hits theaters in limited release on June 3.
Here’s some clips from the film:
