Beginners - 3 stars out of 10

Beginners - 3 stars out of 10

"Beginners" is an artistic film whose events are presented as a series of flashbacks taken completely out of chronological order.  Although the film is best known because of Christopher Plummer's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, I feel that the nomination doesn't have a leg to stand on because he basically just sat there and occasionally made out with men.  I do celebrate Plummer's successful film career but feel that this performance falls short of the bulk of his work and should not be the role for which he is remembered.  Meanwhile, Melanie Laurent has been completely overlooked as the lovely and fascinating Anna.  To be honest, I didn't latch onto the random spray painting scenes or many other aspects of this story, but Laurent is the only reason that I might watch this film again.  Also overlooked is Mary Page Keller as the mother, who had spunk and a refreshingly original characterization.  While this is far from Ewan McGregor's finest performance, I did love his interactions with the dog.  And after this film, who ISN'T going to want a Jack Russell Terrier of their own?  Especially if the dog's thoughts are revealed by subtitles.  I enjoyed some of the artistic qualities of the film, like the broken timeline that gave meaning to Oliver's struggles, and the "photo album" moments that break from the plot to express the difference between the decades; however, as a whole I didn't feel like the characters or story really went anywhere and the events were just a 104-minute perspective into the mundane.  Basically, people are going to watch this film because of Christopher Plummer's Oscar nod, but it shouldn't be hard to see that the spotlight shines on Laurent while the story disappears into insignificance.