The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Beginners
Drama · Romance · Comedy · 2011
Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.
Movie details
Beginners
“This is what love feels like.”
2011 Drama · Romance · Comedy 1h 45m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Beginners?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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One True Thing
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A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.
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A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
An Education
Drama · 2009
Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.
Daddy Longlegs
Drama · 2010
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Ordinary Love
Drama · 2019
An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.
Elena Undone
Drama · 2010
The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Mike Mills
Written by
Mike Mills
Ewan McGregor
Oliver Fields
Christopher Plummer
Hal Fields
Mélanie Laurent
Anna Wallace
Goran Višnjić
Andy
Kai Lennox
Elliot
Mary Page Keller
Georgia Fields
K
Keegan Boos
Young Oliver
Court is in session
Put Beginners on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.