‘Tomboy’ is a striking and realistic portrayal of gender expression

Film: ‘Tomboy’

Grade: A
French with English subtitles

Céline Sciamma’s wonderful film Tomboy – about 10-year-old Laure who tells playmates in her new neighborhood that she is a boy named Mikael, and gets away with it for a while – is strikingly fresh and uncontrived, lively with wonderful performances, and surprising in its candid portrayal of children. Sciamma brilliantly captures children determining their pecking order, playing, fighting, asking inane questions (as children will, when adults aren’t around): “Have you ever tasted your pee?”

OK, some of you were asked that same question last weekend.

The film is told mostly through the eyes of Laure/Mikael (Zoé Héran) as she/he moves back and forth between girl and boy personas. The burden of secrecy and the task of segregating social groups is immediately apparent to those of us who have led double lives.

An angular, sharp-featured child, Laure has no problem passing for a boy with her shirt off, she is lean and flat. Mikael is accepted by the boys for his athleticism and because he spits like a dude, and girls are attracted his good looks and lack of boyish stupidity.

At home, Laure is very close to her little sister Jeanne, who is remarkably portrayed by Malonn Lévana, an absolute gem of a child actor. Jeanne is equal parts adorable, annoying, endearing and perceptive. Jeanne’s reaction to finding out about her sister’s ruse is quite interesting and well played out.

Laure’s mother and father are affectionate, but not fawning or fake; writer/director Sciamma knows how to craft adult characters who are every bit as realistic as the children. These parents aren’t stupid, but they do make failures in judgment that add to their believability. Mom and dad are important to the story, but this film has wonderful economy and the parents are integral, not an interruption.
Lurking in the background of Laure’s adventure as “Mikael” is time: school starts soon.

This presents an ominous dilemma. When the film comes to an emotional eruption where Mikael is revealed as Laure, we feel every bit of fear, anguish, shame and anger. Zoé Héran is undeniably brutal in her portrayal.

It didn’t dawn on me until the end of the film, but there is almost no music driving the emotions or atmospheres, and it is incredibly effective.

There is a temptation to compare this film with Ma Vie En Rose (1997), a French film in which a little boy loves cross-dressing and can hardly wait to grow up into a woman. In both films, children struggle with gender expression while adults lose their heads. I love both films, they are wonderfully crafted, but the contrast is that Ma Vie is fantastical and Tomboy is very realistic. They are both totally satisfying cinema experiences.

Tomboy screens exclusively at Landmark’s Chez Artiste theater beginning Dec. 16.

On the Web at http://landmarktheaters.com or phone 303-352-1992 for information.