Beginners
Burlesque drag queen Vera Wylde offers her advice on those who are exploring male to female cross dressing. Everything from makeup advice, to how to walk in heels, to developing a more feminine voice, and more.
Despite its tight budget of $3.2M, Beginners became a financial success, earning $14.3M worldwide—a 347% return. The film's compelling narrative connected with viewers, demonstrating that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Beginners (2011) exhibits strategically placed dramatic framework, characteristic of Mike Mills's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 44 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.7, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Oliver Fields
Hal Fields
Anna
Georgia Fields
Main Cast & Characters
Oliver Fields
Played by Ewan McGregor
A graphic designer struggling with intimacy and emotional vulnerability following his father's death and coming out.
Hal Fields
Played by Christopher Plummer
Oliver's elderly father who comes out as gay at 75 after his wife's death and lives authentically for the first time.
Anna
Played by Mélanie Laurent
A French actress dealing with her own emotional barriers who forms a tentative romantic connection with Oliver.
Georgia Fields
Played by Mary Page Keller
Oliver's deceased mother, a emotionally distant woman who created an atmosphere of sadness in the family.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Oliver, emotionally detached and lonely, gives a voiceover montage about loss and sadness while his dog Arthur "narrates" through subtitles, establishing Oliver's isolated world after his father's death.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Oliver attends a costume party (symbolically wearing a mask) where he feels utterly alone and disconnected, triggering his deep desire for connection but illustrating his inability to achieve it.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Oliver actively chooses to pursue Anna, calling her and arranging to see her again, committing to opening himself to relationship despite his deep fear of repeating his parents' loveless marriage., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Oliver and Anna reach peak intimacy and connection, sleeping together and sharing deep vulnerability; this false victory feels like breakthrough but his unresolved fears and patterns remain beneath the surface., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 78 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Oliver and Anna have a painful confrontation where the relationship appears to end; intercut with Hal's death, creating the "whiff of death" as both his father and his chance at love seem lost to his inability to be open., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 83 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Oliver has a realization synthesizing Hal's lesson about living authentically with his own need; he understands that being himself means risking vulnerability, and decides to fight for Anna rather than protect himself through withdrawal., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Beginners's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Beginners against these established plot points, we can identify how Mike Mills utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Beginners within the reality-tv genre.
Mike Mills's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Mike Mills films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Beginners represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Mike Mills filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional reality-tv films include Terrace House: Closing Door, Welcome Aboard and The Joneses. For more Mike Mills analyses, see C'mon C'mon, 20th Century Women.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Oliver, emotionally detached and lonely, gives a voiceover montage about loss and sadness while his dog Arthur "narrates" through subtitles, establishing Oliver's isolated world after his father's death.
Theme
In flashback, Hal tells Oliver "I just want to be myself now" after coming out at 75, stating the film's theme about authenticity and the courage to embrace life and love despite fear and past wounds.
Worldbuilding
Intercut timelines establish Oliver's present loneliness and past with his father: Hal's terminal diagnosis, his late-life coming out, his joyful romance with Andy, and Oliver's emotionally repressed childhood with disconnected parents.
Disruption
Oliver attends a costume party (symbolically wearing a mask) where he feels utterly alone and disconnected, triggering his deep desire for connection but illustrating his inability to achieve it.
Resistance
Oliver meets Anna at the party and they communicate playfully but guardedly; flashbacks show Hal teaching Oliver about openness through his own brave coming out; Oliver resists vulnerability despite attraction.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Oliver actively chooses to pursue Anna, calling her and arranging to see her again, committing to opening himself to relationship despite his deep fear of repeating his parents' loveless marriage.
Mirror World
Oliver and Anna begin their relationship in earnest; Anna becomes the mirror character who both shares his emotional damage (she can't talk due to laryngitis, he can't emotionally express) and shows him what authentic connection looks like.
Premise
Oliver and Anna's relationship blossoms through quirky, intimate moments; flashbacks show Hal's joyful final months living authentically with Andy; Oliver experiences the promise of genuine connection while still wrestling with inherited patterns.
Midpoint
Oliver and Anna reach peak intimacy and connection, sleeping together and sharing deep vulnerability; this false victory feels like breakthrough but his unresolved fears and patterns remain beneath the surface.
Opposition
Oliver's fear of abandonment and emotional walls cause friction with Anna; she leaves for NYC; flashbacks show Hal's decline and death; Oliver's old patterns of withdrawal and self-protection intensify as intimacy deepens.
Collapse
Oliver and Anna have a painful confrontation where the relationship appears to end; intercut with Hal's death, creating the "whiff of death" as both his father and his chance at love seem lost to his inability to be open.
Crisis
Oliver processes the loss, grieving both his father and Anna; he sits with Arthur and his loneliness, confronting the dark truth that his fear of loss has created the very abandonment he feared.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Oliver has a realization synthesizing Hal's lesson about living authentically with his own need; he understands that being himself means risking vulnerability, and decides to fight for Anna rather than protect himself through withdrawal.
Synthesis
Oliver pursues Anna to New York, actively choosing openness and risk; he expresses his feelings honestly and asks her to stay with him, demonstrating the transformation from emotional paralysis to authentic engagement.
Transformation
Oliver and Anna reunite, walking together with Arthur; Oliver's voiceover mirrors the opening but now speaks of possibility and connection rather than loss, showing he has learned to be a "beginner" at love like his father was.