Saturday, June 17, 1:15pm, Roxie Theatre: U.S. premiere
contains a scene of transphobic/homophobic violence
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| Harry Gilby is Just Charlie |
To all outward appearances, 14-year-old Charlie Lyndsay is a fairly typical teenage lad in a town near Birmingham, England, good enough at football (which is to say, soccer) to be considering a future as a professional player, but Charlie is mystifyingly uncertain about the invitation to go to a prestigious football academy, because she has other things on her mind. She knows in her heart that she must be true to herself. Her friends, family, classmates and teammates resist the change to varying degrees, but in 21st-century Britain, there is support to be had.
Harry Gilby gives a star turn as Charlie, inhabiting the character with intuitive grace and emotional depth, including all the contradictions of simply being fourteen as well as the complexities added by coming out as transgender while still in the throes of puberty. The story balances the challenges of Charlie’s life with clear-eyed optimism that everything will turn out well. Every aspect of the film is well crafted, from writing and direction to acting to all the technical aspects of lighting, sound, cinematography, and so forth. There is a scene of transphobic violence that some may find upsetting, but it is brief and not particularly graphic. On the whole, this film is a joy to watch, and definitely a MUST SEE.
Just Charlie is a feature-length adaptation of Rebekah Fortune’s 2011 short film Something Blue, in which Charlie was played by Elinor Machen-Fortune, the actress who now plays her older sister Eve.
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