New Year Double Feature: Beginners 🐶 + Before Sunrise 🌅

Happy Thursday! I missed Monday’s newsletter because… well, I forgot it was Monday. Damn you final week of December!

I included a double feature recommendation today themed around fresh starts and new beginnings so you can start the new year with some hope.

🍿 Movie #1: Before Sunrise and the art of taking chances

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.

Today’s first movie is Richard Linklaters’ *ahem* masterpiece Before Sunrise (1995), the first film in his Before trilogy which spans three decades each starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Here’s what it’s about:

Jesse (Hawke) is on a train to Vienna to catch a flight back home to the US. Celine (Delpy) is also on that train heading back to school in Paris. However, after a chance meeting, Jesse convinces her to take a chance and get off the train to spend the night with him in Vienna. [Trailer]

▶︎ Streaming on HBO Max
⏏︎ Rent on Amazon, Apple TV, or YouTube

People sometimes forget that Before Sunrise is a breakup movie. Jesse and Celine only meet because they’re both reeling from breakups. It explains why they’re so quick to do something as reckless as spending the night with someone they don’t know in an unfamiliar city. But that’s the beauty of the film. It’s about two people with nothing to lose at a crossroads in their lives just talking.

Instead of making an unrealistic romance of love at first sight, Linklater and co-writer Kim Krizan instead write two distinct characters that are unafraid to take chances and are rewarded for it with one of those kinds of great conversations you have that come out of nowhere but somehow change your life.

🍿 Movie #2: Beginners and the art of grief and starting over

Mélanie Laurent, Ewan McGregor, and Cosmo the Dog in Beginners. Courtesy of Focus Features.

Today’s second movie is Mike Mills’ dramedy Beginners (2011). At 82, Christopher Plummer won an Oscar for the film making him the oldest person to win an acting Oscar. It also stars Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Višnjić, and Cosmo the Dog. Here’s what it’s about:

Hal Fields (Plummer), at the age of 77 following his wife’s death, comes out as gay and is determined to live the life he never led. After his death, his son Oliver (McGregor) meets spontenous Anna (Mélanie Laurent) who helps him navigate his grief. [Trailer]

▶︎ Streaming on HBO Max
⏏︎ Rent on Amazon, Apple TV, or YouTube

A personal favorite of mine from the last decade, Beginners is a hidden gem of a film. One of those movies that has its own strange wavelength that becomes incredibly rewarding once you tune into it. Told in a non-linear narrative, Beginners is about two things: first, it tells the story of Hal and his exploration of his queer identity. It is a beautiful reminder that it is never too late to embrace who you are and find love.

Second, it tells the story of Oliver, who has a similar lesson to learn from his father. It is okay to embrace the parts of yourself that don’t feel right. In his case, it’s his grief and sadness at the passing of his father. As he sorts through his things, he’s reminded that life itself isn’t linear. It deviates and takes turns, but it is always beautiful.

I’m not going to say have a great year because we know how that went. What I will say is 2020 was hard, but you got through it. Be proud of that and take that energy into 2021.

See you next year (I know, I hate myself too) —
Karl

📽 P.S. You can see every movie I’ve ever recommended right here.

🍅 I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find new movie reviews here.