BEGINNERS: love, life and the whole damn thing beautifully explored

This offbeat 2010 drama-comedy-romance is something of a hidden gem. Not quite an Elizabeth Taylor sized diamond but not a worthless chunk of diamonique either.
BEGINNERS delivered more than I was expecting and with more wit and style than I'd anticipated. The end result is it's stuck with me for the last couple of days, long after I'm struggling to remember the title of some other films I've seen recently.

Ewan McGregor stars as Oliver, a thirtysomething illustrator whose world is rocked by the news that his 75 year old recently widowed father Hal (played by Christopher Plummer) is gay and has a much younger boyfriend. The revelation brings the formerly rather distant father and son closer together as Hal reveals the truth behind the facade of his 44 year marriage to Oliver's mother, and the joy he's experiencing at finally being able to be himself.
Simultaneously the film explores Oliver's unexpected and burgeoning relationship with Anna (Melanie Laurent), a vivacious young French woman he meets at a fancy dress party. Oliver's always had commitment issues so this is something new for him - a woman he wants to stay with and share his life with.
While the two relationships are developing side by side on screen they're actually occupying different spaces in time. Oliver first meets Anna a couple of months after his father's death from cancer and although director Mike Mills makes no effort to confuse the issue it's easy to sink into the feeling that everything's happening at the same time. What is clear is that Oliver's increasingly close relationship with his father and the support he gives him during his final illness is helping him to develop a consciousness about himself and why he's the way he is, although it's not so easy to apply the lessons to his relationship with Anna.
I've never been a big fan of McGregor but he is note perfect here and more than complements Plummer's beautiful, Oscar nomination worthy performance as an old man discovering himself and facing up to death. The two interact with an ease that suggests a lifetime of familiarity with one another and a deep rooted affection which, although unspoken for too long, has always been there.
A strong sense of warm understated tenderness and affection permeates the entire film and everyone in it. From Hal to Oliver and Anna to Hal's adorable, scene-stealing dog Arthur (he'll make you want to go straight out and adopt a Jack Russell) these are characters and situations we want to care about and Mills achieves this without resorting to cheap sentimentality or stock scenarios. 
There's not too many films where I've longed to know what happens to the characters after we take our leave of them, but BEGINNERS definitely belongs in that select group.