X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

A Beginner's Guide to Endings

In Niagara Falls, Ontario, proverbial loser Edward "Duke" White, father to now four adult and one adolescent sons with three different women, and not much of a father by anyone's estimation, has just killed himself, and although his body is not found, the evidence indicates that he killed himself by going over the falls. Only Duke's only wife, now ex-wife Goldie White, has and had been any sort of mother to all five, despite only being the biological mother to the first three: not too bright Eddie Jr., who had always wanted to be a boxer - he having turned pro for a while, which is where he got his nickname "Nuts" - despite never having shown a real aptitude for the sport; Cal, the slick Lothario who likes the finer things in life, except his women, his type being those that would proudly display their tramp stamp; and Jacob, the smart, responsible straight arrow. From the will read by the executor, the boys' paternal uncle, Father Pal, the boys learn that besides the specifically chosen memento each of the three oldest receives appropriate to his life, Duke killed himself for the sake of those three partly in an act of atonement. In addition to committing fraud against the three, the large sum of money they didn't even know they had, he did something ten years ago that will result now in their imminent deaths. After Cob confirms the accuracy of what Duke wrote, each of the three goes on an end of life journey, Nuts and Cal's specific to their respective lives in boxing and with women. While Cob does go the route of carrying out his bucket list, some of the more dangerous items on which may indeed kill him, Nuts and Cal may also find their remaining path will take them possibly closer to death, an unintended consequence.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Scott Caan
Cal White
Paulo Costanzo
Jacob 'Cob' White
Jason Jones
Edward 'Nuts' White Jr.

Featured Video

A Beginner's Guide To Endings
A Beginner's Guide To Endings
2:02

2:02 A Beginner's Guide To Endings

Awards

  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Feature Film - winner
  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Cinematographer - winner
  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Screenplay - winner
  • 2011 - DGC Team Award - Feature Film - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Three Colors: Red
Rear Window
The Godfather
Compensation

Popular Movies See all movies

14 and Under

1 hr 27 mins
A series of "sex reports" intended to address the issue of pedophilia in the early 1970s.
1973 Comedy

Project Hail Mary

2 hr 36 mins
Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
77   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction

The Quiet Man

2 hr 9 mins
Sean Thornton has returned from America to reclaim his homestead and escape his past. Sean's eye is caught by Mary Kate Danaher, a beautiful but poor maiden, and younger sister of ill-tempered "Red" Will Danaher. The riotous relationship that forms between Sean and Mary Kate, punctuated by Will's pugnacious attempts to keep them apart, form the main plot, with Sean's past as the dark undercurrent.
85   Metascore
1952 Comedy, Drama

Ready or Not

1 hr 35 mins
READY OR NOT follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband's (Mark O'Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.
64   Metascore
2019 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Suspense

Hoppers

1 hr 44 mins
“Hoppers” features the voice of Bobby Moynihan as King George, an undeniably optimistic, kind and larger-than-life beaver who is the leader of the pond and king of the mammals. Jon Hamm voices Mayor Jerry, a politician running for reelection in Beaverton. Under his shiny, perfectly coiffed hair and matching public persona, Jerry is losing his cool over the one thing he can’t control: Mabel
73   Metascore
2026 Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction

Blue Moon

1 hr 40 mins
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.
78   Metascore
2025 Documentary, Comedy, Drama, Music