Trans tales: Close to You (2024)
We know the movie world doesn’t work like this, but someone’s career should end when this person wants. Yet, we’ve seen so many careers come to a close because of the public’s tastes changing and studio bosses demanding something else — and here I’m thinking about the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Now, careers shouldn’t end because a performer came out as gay, lesbian, non-binary or trans. Today we talk about the comeback of one of the greatest talents of this generation, Elliot Page, in “Close to You”, the first film he starred in after transitioning.
Sam (Elliot Page) is coming back home for his father’s birthday after a four-year absence. He doesn’t know why he was invited to the party, after all, he imagines he’s nothing but a huge disappointment for his family and the only thing they get for inviting him is the image of good samaritans who accept their trans kid back.
Sam’s first shock comes in the train, where he meets an old acquaintance, Katherine (Hillary Baack). They were high school classmates and haven’t seen each other in almost twenty years! They chat for a long time, but the woman doesn’t accept Sam’s invitation for a coffee. She simply doesn’t want to be seen with Sam… or does she?
Sam’s reception at home is warm, even though his mother Miriam (Wendy Crewson) sometimes uses the wrong pronouns. His brother-in-law Paul (David Reale) is hostile, asking Sam if he doesn’t feel unsettled in the house. One of his sisters tells Sam that “she” could have had the perfect life, but soon the two, who shared a bedroom as kids, share confidences about their sex lives and everything becomes fine again.
Except it doesn’t. It takes a short time until more polemics arise and Sam leaves the house furious. He finds solace going after Katherine, who is hearing impaired and speaks both sign language and in a truncated speech. She owns a café and, although they have their differences — in many meanings of the word — they surely can work it out.
Sam’s father remembers the time Sam was at home, depressed, before his decision to leave for Toronto, leaving also his father extremely worried because then he couldn’t help if something happened. Depression and suicide are important themes among trans individuals. A 2023 report tells us that more than 40% of trans adults in the US have attempted suicide and 56% have self-harmed. They have, on the other hand, looked for professional psychological help at a higher rate than cisgender adults, which tells us that mental health is an important issue for them.
In the very beginning of the movie we see Sam shirtless, with a skinny but muscular body. The rest of the movie, his handsome body — a body that has been intimate with both men and women, and that can and will love again — is covered by several layers of clothing, and his hair is also covered by a beanie. He takes off his coat at his family’s house and more pieces of clothing, as well as the beanie, at Katherine’s. Getting naked is getting vulnerable.
“Close to You” is part of a tendency: movies where a trans person goes back home after years of absence, to confront and sometimes comfort their families. Another movie with this plot is “Monica” (2022), in which Trace Lysette comes home to take care of her dying mother and reconnect with her siblings and nephews.
“Close to You” also belongs in the category “movies in which the action develops over the course of a day”. This is an old and broad category, having among them films such as “12 Angry Men” (1957), “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), “Do the Right Thing” (1989) and “Before Sunrise” (1995) — just to mention a few masterpieces from the 20th century. Movies like those can be found in all genres, telling different stories while mastering a difficulty , a constrict that makes them more interesting.
A film like “Close to You” practically invites us to talk about representation in movies. It’s great that a real trans man was chosen to play the lead. But the problem is that Elliot Page was an A-lister even before he transitioned, and he became the go-to person to cast in a role like Sam. Of course, we must be happy because his career didn’t end because he transitioned, but where are the other trans men who without a doubt dream about arriving in Hollywood and getting a role in a major motion picture? Sure, director / writer / producer Dominic Savage claims that the film was made with, for and because of Elliot, but here we demand opportunities like these for all trans performers.
There is also the representation of people with disabilities. Having a disability isn’t Katherine’s main personality trait, she is a complex character that silently wants more than life has given her… but way back, life has given her Sam’s friendship. The two had a strong connection while growing up and this hasn’t changed over time neither with Sam’s transition. It’s the right kind of representativeness that we’re talking about here, after all, Katherine can have it all.
“Close to You” was based on a story written by Page alongside Dominic Savage. It’s said by someone on Letterboxd that 53 of the 99 minutes were improvised on set, but we can’t point out which ones because of the raw honesty that permeates the whole movie. Taking from personal experience is almost always a good idea when it comes to shaping a story that means a lot to someone and someone’s peers. About the improvising that was going on, Hillary Baack declared: “It was very improvisational all the way through, in a very satisfying and exciting way”.
Paul once again is insensitive when he declares he doesn’t know all the “rules” to talk to someone who is trans. Miriam is better: she says that the parents surely learn from their kids, and tries to respect Sam’s new pronouns and overall new reality, even though she confesses she’s grieving the loss of her “little girl”. Although condemning a list of “dos and donts”, the film is very didactic in moments such as those. But the message is one Sam knows well: family — as in a group of individuals related by blood — isn’t the most important thing. Being content in your own body: this is what matters the most in the end.
