Monica

Monica, the latest feature from Italian director Andrea Pallaoro, traces the unusual and painful homecoming of its title character, a young woman played wonderfully by the trans performer Trace Lysette. Opening with scenes of Monica in LA, we find her making money through sex work and caught in a series of one-sided and unfulfilling exchanges, with the plot’s trajectory established when she receives a call and returns home to care for her terminally ill mother Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Monica has transitioned since their last meeting, meaning her mother does not recognise her when she returns, and the remainder of the film sensitively explores the emotional complexities of this reunion.

Part of this is achieved through Pallaoro’s compositional method, which creates a quiet and introspective mood. In scenes that pass by wordlessly, frequent close-ups of Monica combine with the sounds of her environment to draw us towards her emotional experience, whilst in dialogue, the film’s central concern with the unsaid finds a parallel in the cool, often detached quality of Monica’s speech. Such subtleties of tone and gesture are the hallmarks of Lysette’s performance, which relies on very little dialogue to successfully convey Monica’s blend of uncertainty and self-assertion.

A close-up of Eugenia in the movie’s final stages hints at her possible comprehension of Monica’s true identity, and yet Pallaoro wisely resists the turmoil of a confrontation between mother and daughter, instead focusing on the mutual warmth and empathy that emerges outside of their awareness of family and its painful history. As the the feature draws to a close we are given a new possibility in Monica’s interaction with her nephew Brodie, as her self-assertion is implicitly passed on and finally integrated into the family unit through the words of encouragement she offers him. When the camera lingers on Monica as Brodie sings The Star-Spangled Banner, Lysette’s performance draws out the limitations of this partial resolution, and once again elevates the emotional resonance of this focused, beautifully crafted film.

Josh Britton

Monica is released in select cinemas on 15^th December 2023.

Watch the trailer for Monica here: