Close to You

by Mike McGranaghan

Close to You is a well-intentioned movie that addresses some very important ideas, so it’s a shame that it isn’t a little better. Sam (Elliot Page) is a transgender male who has lived apart from his family for four years. On the occasion of his father’s birthday, he decides to return home. During the train ride there, Sam bumps into his best friend from high school, Katherine (Hillary Baack).

Two separate stories are being told here. The good one finds Sam trying to reconcile with his mother Miriam (Wendy Crewson) and father Jim (Peter Outerbridge). They’re accepting of him as a trans man, and he engages in mature, thoughtful conversations with them as he tries to explain why he fled the family for a time. Among the topics discussed are Miriam’s difficulty remembering to use the correct pronouns. Things come to an unexpected head when Sam’s soon-to-be brother-in-law Paul (David Reale) reveals transphobic beliefs that make Sam uncomfortable, upending the entire dynamic in the home. The way that issue resolves itself is like a punch in the gut.

The bad story finds Sam reconnecting with the married Katherine and developing a romance. It doesn’t work for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Page and Baack have no chemistry together. Their dialogue is often thin and simplistic, and the movie glosses over the obstacle of Katherine’s husband. Whereas the other half is a compelling drama about a transgender man seeking to be fully seen by his family, this half is a big cliché about that same man attempting to win the heart of the woman he’s long been in love with.

Close to You devotes equal time to both stories, and that’s the problem. You get wrapped up in the domestic drama, only to have the lame love story repeatedly intrude. Page wrote the story with director Dominic Savage. Why they would take this route is unclear. When the movie deals with issues of acceptance and tolerance, it’s a thought-provoking work that could potentially help build compassion for transgender people among viewers who hold views similar to Paul’s. When it tries to be a heart-tugging romance, everything collapses.

One thing is for certain: Elliot Page gives a raw, vulnerable performance throughout. Presumably drawing on his own experiences in drafting the story and inhabiting the character, he commands your attention at every turn, especially during the tense family scenes. Here’s a case of an actor bravely willing to lay himself bare for his art. If the totality of Close to You was up to Page’s level, it would be a power hitter rather than a disappointingly inconsistent film.

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