Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson had the Venice Biennale buzzing, because Lysette was the first trans actress to lead a competition movie there.
Directed by Andrea Pallaoro, Monica (Lysette) returns to her childhood hometown to see her estranged mother (Clarkson). Via Variety:
Clarkson puts in a sensitive, characterful turn, with strong support from Joshua Close and Emily Browning as her son and his wife, who have their own troubles.
But it’s Lysette who takes center stage, delivering a quietly powerful turn as a woman full of complexities: enigmatic in public yet vulnerable in private; modest yet flamboyant; distant then caring. It’s painful to watch her leaving pleading messages for her errant boyfriend, who isn’t there for her in her time of need. Meanwhile, her mother has her own contradictions, and worries about being a burden on others, something that rings true but is rarely shown on screen.
Support trans artists! The film opens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend. If you’re at DragCon this weekend, it opens wider in the US on May 19th.
Watch.
Images: YouTube / IFC Films
