Beginners

A series of scenes that repeat themselves and go nowhere. Maybe that's why it's called "Beginners," but it's frustrating to watch. Ewan MacGregor plays an LA-based graphic designer coming to grips with his father's death while starting a new relationship with Melanie Laurent, a French actress. The actors (and the film, at times) are attractive to look at but that's about it. You know a film is in trouble when MacGregor, Laurent and Christopher Plummer are all upstaged by a Jack Russell Terrier.