As part of the second edition of the From Venice to London season, Monica makes its UK debut as one of five titles from last year’s Venice Film Festival.
★★★✰✰
Grief is a prevailing and unavoidable sentiment. The harsh contemplation that a close relative, friend, or partner will eventually die is a blunt reminder of profound mortality. It also teaches us that while all good things must ultimately come to an end, the relationship and attitudes you share with a person will last forever. These themes are what Monica explores, through a quietly intimate narrative.
Monica expresses a portrait of the titular character (Trace Lysette), a trans woman who returns back home in order to care for her terminally ill mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). During her stay, she reunites with her family and slowly begins to embrace hidden truths regarding her identity and her distance from her immediate relatives.
This film expresses its crucial story through an arthouse approach to storytelling. It relies on small gestures, reduced dialogue, and a rejection of the typical three-act structure in favour of mood expression. There is no particular beginning, middle or end to Monica’s journey. Instead we see a vignette of her visit to her ailing mother, at which point her underlying feelings of perceived rejection and estrangement and crisis of trans identity become visible. Over a very slow-burn narrative, alienation and the struggle with identity conservation are uncovered through perceptive, quiet subtleties.
Since our central character predominantly feels a dissimilarity to and detachment from her family, the film relies on a forced subject positioning. We are constantly exposed to Monica’s consciousness and the ideas she works through over the course of the film. Every situation and poignant facet is expressed solely through the eyes of our titular character over the course of the central narrative.
Monica shines through its technical qualities and sublimely delicate performances, notably those of Lysette and Clarkson. Each of their performances feels wholly authentic and three-dimensional, with all sides of their relationship dynamic radiating through remarkably honest portrayals. Lysette expresses Monica’s position as the isolated family member, selling every moment and conveying her pain as she is forced into revealing her true identity to a mother who barely recognises her.
Subtleties additionally appear in the form of certain soundtrack choices and the clear focus within the sound design. Every scene is littered with sharp sounds that place the viewer right into the centre of Monica’s tale and establish the family dynamic. Song selections effectively highlight specific emotional moments; ‘Common People’ by Pulp is heard in one sequence, the lyrics mirroring Monica’s isolation and struggle to be accepted by her family.
Although these elements function well for the overall presentation, the film’s fundamental problem is its sole reliance on them. Moments of profundity never hit as successfully as they should, which is Monica’s ultimate downfall. By completely depending on subtleties with little else to offer, the film loses vital room for a deeper examination of the critical themes at play. A narrative regarding a trans woman struggling to find herself in a sudden and unexpected situation should be ripe for exploration. This is a pivotal viewpoint to delve into, but by never fully regarding these issues the film’s quality declines
Monica takes a long time to fully kickstart its analysis, and never truly reaches the heights required of a compelling concept like this. In such films where a slow-burn narrative is at the core, subtleties are definitely valuable. However, an entirely fleshed-out framework is needed to complete the story. The objective of a film enhances the quality of the story and the experience of watching it. The intent is almost there in Monica, but a stronger path is needed to make it a standout film.
The Verdict
Monica is a fascinating film that excels in some respects, such as the excellent leading performances and technical expertise. But for those seeking a truly compelling story regarding the trans experience, this will undoubtedly leave you searching for more.
Words by Ethan Soffe
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Excellent review. Thank you.
It’s not supposed to be a film about ‘the trans experience’. There’s no lurid sensationalism here. It’s a film about the human experience of someone who just happens to be trans.