On Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of shaking hands with filmmaker Mike Mills and actor Ewan McGregor, and sitting down with two other journalists (Sarah Fetters and Keith Simanton) to interview them about their new film Beginners, which also stars Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent.

Director Mike Mills and actor Ewan McGregor in Seattle. (Photo by Keith Simanton, courtesy of IMDBlive.)

They were very good company, and I wish our 25 minutes had gone on for an hour. I had a lot of questions for them, because the film really inspired me. Beginners is a pleasant surprise.

When I saw the trailer, I thought, Wow. It’s a coming-out movie. It’s a cancer movie. It’s a Two Tormented Artists in Love story. And there’s a talking dog. This movie is going to go wrong in one hundred ways, and push every predictable emotion button.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUFUp6vsxg

But boy was I wrong. Beginners is a unique, personal, powerful film. I’m looking forward to delivering a full review soon.