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My rambling review -


Ewan McGregor may be the most romantic actor to date. Not that he’s prone to doing romantic comedies, the way Hugh Jackman currently is, since he’s more prone to Indie films but … there’s something about his natural gestures. His eyes. The way he can kiss a girl on screen while on his knees and not have it look forced or cliché.

Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in Daniel Day Lewis’ intensity and his roles that make me cry that I forget how powerful simplicity can be. I think it’s harder to seem natural than it is to act intensely. Though both have their merits. Ewan, though, is so vulnerable in his films yet maintains this masculinity that is so charming and still strong.

I’ll have to hunt him down one day and then get too flustered to get an autograph, let alone say hello.

Anyway, the movie itself is very charming and poignant. Touching. Wacky bits of humor that help the pace and break the tension, because the subject isn’t the lightest and the movie does seem heavy. But not oppressive. Still, the heaviness is layered beneath all this warmth and genuine characters. It isn’t’ a movie with a villain.

I have great respect for Ewan, for a wide variety of reasons. One of them is his ability to play leading roles where he falls for women that aren’t the stereotypical Goddess type. It’s … an awkward fumbling, instead, an exploration of someone else. Where the quirks outweigh the questions. I’ve always wanted a relationship like that.

While this is a small detail, Ewan’s character spends the film talking to his father’s dog. A Jack Russell Terrier. I don’t know if it’s more of a testament to Ewan’s ability as an actor or the strength of the director, but those were some of my favorite scenes. Maybe it’s because I’m an animal person myself, and I talk to my cat. While he stares at me and, more often or not, stretches a paw out to hit my arm.

All in all, it’s weird to watch a movie that’s uplifting. Or it is for me, anyway, because I normally choose the sadder stuff. But Beginners seems like a believable uplifting, a natural progression starting from where the characters are being closeted or held at a stagnate point and moving to a gradual liberation. An awakening, or an awareness of one’s potential and self.

Which probably means I’ll end up buying it soon.