CLOSE TO YOU - Mark Reviews Movies

Close to You, Greenwich Entertainment

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 15, 2024

Years ago, Sam (Elliot Page), the central character of Close to You, moved from his small hometown to Toronto and hasn't returned since. The reason was partly that need for a young adult to fly the coop, but there was more to it than something so simple. Sam needed to find himself, and a major component of that self-discovery was living as and transitioning into a man.

Writer/director Dominic Savage's film, of course, possesses an inherent and significant amount of authenticity from Page's involvement in it. The actor stars and co-wrote the story with the director, and it's the first movie project he has made in front of the camera since publicly transitioning himself.

How much of this particular story, about a trans man seeing family for the first time since transitioning, is based on Page's own story is only a matter of speculation and, hence, irrelevant to an assessment of the film itself. It clearly, though, comes from a place of sincerity, honesty, and some amount of generosity for the other character's surrounding Sam. This may be his story first and foremost, but it understands and sympathizes with the challenges of a well-meaning family who want what's best for their loved one but don't always know how to express that in a helpful way.

That is Sam's primary worry about returning home for the occasion of his father's birthday. He confides in his housemate that he knows the family accepts and supports his transition, but with only the occasional phone call as his frame of communication in recent years, Sam has to wonder a lot about how they support him and why they accept him. What will they talk about with him around? What have they been saying about Sam to their friends and acquaintances? Do they really accept Sam as a man, or are the family members simply doing what they think they should be doing as generally liberal folks with a certain public face to uphold?

Those are the questions he and, by extension, we have when Sam makes his way by train to his hometown, walks to his family's mansion of a home, and steps through the front door to see his parents, siblings, in-laws, and potentially future ones for the first time in several years or, in the cases of those romantic partners, ever. Everyone seems fine. Sam's mother Miriam (Wendy Crewson) welcomes him with open arms and the choked words of holding back tears. His sisters Kate (Janet Porter) and Megan (Alex Paxton-Beesley) are happy, if maybe a little stunned, to see him, too.

Then, there's Sam's father Jim (Peter Outerbridge), who is completely comfortable and relaxed at his first sight of Sam in so many years and after the transition. In what might be the film's best scene, Jim talks to his son plainly, not about the transition, but about the pain of being a father who knows his child is unhappy and feels helpless to do anything about it. It's easy for him, because the father knows to his core that his child is happy for the first time Jim can remember.

It's a generally happy reunion, in other words, despite the hints of discomfort. Some of that is to be expected, given the length of Sam's absence from the family and the fact that Stephen (Andrew Bushell), who married Kate while Sam was away in Toronto, wants to make a good impression like any normal brother-in-law would. Other bits of unease are specific to the situation, such as Miriam using incorrect pronouns on occasion and admitting that 20-some years of knowing Sam one way is difficult to adjust in her mind. Kate recalls sharing a bedroom with Sam growing up and confesses to a similar difficulty of adjustment, as well as guilt that she never truly knew Sam that entire time.

The most obvious source of conflict here is Paul (David Reale), Megan's fiancé, who has his own agenda, it seems, with Sam's presence and latches on to any sign of discomfort as evidence for his case. The explosion of Paul's bigotry and Sam's all-too-aware knowledge of what this guy is driving at, with his passive-aggressive comments and resentment of having to abide by certain "rules," is blunt compared to the minor dramas and conflicts of the scenes at the house. The ways in which each family member becomes or doesn't become involved in the argument, though, gets at something about them, too.

There's a fine balance here, but as hinted at, there are more than simply scenes at the house. The train ride introduces a subplot involving Katerine (Hillary Baack), a woman whom Sam dated in high school. When they recognize each other on the train, the two catch up, and Sam tries to spend some time with Katherine while he's visiting. She's married with two kids, now, so Katherine doesn't think that's a good idea—although that thought doesn't last for long.

The inevitable scenes of the two together are sweet and tender, which makes them slightly easier to digest—despite the fact that the entire subplot is a distraction from the familial drama that Savage navigates so well. Obviously, the bond between Sam and Katherine is getting at some notion of pure acceptance and love, regardless of time and the changes that come with it, but apart from that, one has to wonder if the through line is necessary here, considering how much else the film is handling.

It all does work more or less, however, because of the honesty of the characters, their relationships, and Page's performance. Close to You understands every significant character within its drama, and most importantly, it relates Sam's worry, vulnerability, and strength in potent ways.

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