Beginners (2011)

☻☻Beginners (2011) is a odd cross between a series of bittersweet romances and a father-son bonding film.

Oliver (Ewan McGreggor) is still in mourning for his father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), who came out of the closet at 75, after 44 years of marriage. We watch Oliver's new romance with the unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurent) in between flashbacks of his changing relationship with his gay father.

As Hal slowly succumbs to cancer, we see him make do, to live in the moment -- often ignoring some of the needs of others. Hal knows his son asks too much; he's unwilling to accept less than his ideal and will thus lose out.

Hal's life is contrasted with Oliver's relationship with Anna. Yet Anna's behaviour is also odd.She appears to have her own problems, and is unwilling to share them. She receives telephone calls she is unwilling to answer and when Oliver invites her to move in with him, she is unable to cope.

Oliver's mother (Mary Page Keller), whose death triggered his father's outing, is an enigma. The film makes it very clear that Oliver's parents did not lead a happy home life. However, we are left to decide for ourselves whether her behaviour was due to husband's virtual abandonment or an unrelated psychological problem. 

I enjoyed watching Oliver's new relationship with his father unfold, but I was much less comfortable with his romance with Anna. I kept wondering if we were being given glimpses of Oliver's childhood and his mother's behaviour as examples of what he could expect in a future with Anna. 

Perhaps it was just to explain that al had been gay from the start, but that's rather simplistic. I also kept thinking that the relationship with Anna began during the period of Hal's decline. I think this was because I wanted Hal's practical opinion about her. Would he have counselled the short-term make-do approach or a more long-term solution?

An interesting film, primarily because of Christopher Plummer.


Speaking out:

  82%/81% rottentomatoes.com (23 Jun 2011*)

  7.2/10  imdb.com (23 Jun 2011*)

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* Date of web access.

The Borgias (2011)

☻ ☻ ☻ The Borgias (2011). The 15th century was a rough time to be Pope. Especially if you were a Spaniard. Rodrigo Borgia, aka Alexander VI (Jeremy Irons) is burdened with more than your average pontifical responsibilities. Unpopular with his flock, former colleagues at the College of Cardinals are plotting a coup. Dinnertime disposal of Cardinal Orsini (Derek Jacobi) was his child's play, but Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (Colm Feore) is a racehorse of a different colour.

What with the costly election and maintaining the high life, Rodrigo must also with securing his children's future. He forces would-be warrior, Cesare (François Arnaud) into the family business, leaving chicken-hearted Juan (David Oakes) to provide the family's muscle. Compliant youngster Joffre (Aidan Alexander) offers to play any part his father desires.

Naïve Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) is the apple of Cesare's eye. She's old enough to have a few ideas of her own, but too young to realize her father's plans have everything to do with Borgia advancement and little to do with happiness.

It's not easy being the offspring or the partner of a person who insists on the appellation "Your Holiness":

The Spanish Borgias: Promoted an a original crime family, they 

were the inspiration for Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972).

This aristocratic 15th-century underworld costume drama makes for compelling viewing.

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Speaking out:

"[U]nlike The Godfather, there seems to be no bigger goal behind Pope Alexander’s evil deeds than to survive. [H]e wants his sons to have influential jobs [and] packs the Vatican with ... cardinals to ensure his own job security. But ... Irons’ performance fails to demonstrate the necessary gravitas for a compelling psychopathic power mongerer. [F]or history buffs, not for viewers looking for another Godfather." Rachel Ray (The Telegraph)

"Few actors ooze decadence as effortlessly as Jeremy Irons, and casting him as an amoral pope ... who bribes and bullies his way into the papacy sounds like the role of a lifetime. Yet [director] Neil Jordan's take ... is never as fun as its The Godfather." Brian Lowry (Variety)

"[A] lavish costume drama about the poisonous family that put the machiavelli in Machiavelli, handily beats The Tudors and Rome. Art-directed down to the last detail, The Borgias [looks] far more lush than anything outside the pay-cable wall. Newcomers Arnaud and Grainger make terrific impressions ... Irons, too, is wonderfully shaded as a murderous pope who may yet find Jesus. Rating: ***1/2 stars." Greg Evans (Bloomberg)

 8.6/10  imdb.com (21 April 2011*)

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* Date of web access

Biutiful (2010)

☻ ☻ ☻ Biutiful (2010). The place is down-at-heel Barcelona. Living on the fringes of society, the father of two children who has taken on the responsibility for too many people, receives one more. With only a few months to live what's he to do to assure his kids' future? If that weren't enough, he sees ghosts too, serving to remind us that life is a constant cycle of beginnings and endings. In Spanish, with subtitles. Barcelona, even the weather was poor: Speaking out:    66%/77% rottentomatoes.com (2 Mar 2011*)   7.6/10  imdb.com (2 Mar 2011*) * * * Note * Date of website access.

Being Human (BBC)

☻ ☻ ☻ BBC's Being Human is back for a another series. Apparently, Limbo still exists. Much better than the new derivative American version. However, it is fun to watch both and compare (ie, predict what will happen, based on the original). Calling the mirrored vampire Aidan was a bit OTT, though. As expected, the final episode was a cliff-hanger. Stake your hopes on New Zealand and take a gander at the cast members of Peter Jackson's two-part film adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, if you what to understand what really occurred. Win some, lose some. The good news is a fourth series is now in the works! Vampire Mitchell below. See kids? This is what what happens when you get bored on the bus, so don't forget your book! Mitchell doing a poor job of pretending to Be Human Speaking out: "Being Human depends on how you see it ... [A]s a comedy then it’s simply not funny enough ... [A]s a serious drama that takes a unique spin on an overused subject that actually has a solid theme running through it then it’s one of the best things BBC Three has ever shown." Steven Cookson (Suite101®)