Edinburgh Film Festival 2011 Review: TOMBOY

By Adam Whyte / July 1, 2011

rating: 3.5

Laure, the protagonist of Céline Sciammas Tomboy, doesnt like make-up, or dresses, or long hair; not on herself, anyway. She keeps her hair cut short and likes to play football. Shes also ten years old, on the cusp of adolescence and forming a crush on a local girl. She has just moved into a new neighbourhood and no one knows her, and since shes already fairly androgynous she starts passing herself off as a boy, Mikael. Armed with her new identity (and, in one scene, a Play-Doh phallus), she ingratiates herself with some local boys, and even kisses the girl she likes following a game of truth or dare. She looks and acts like a boy, so no one doubts her. However the new school term is approaching, and she realises that she has painted herself somewhat into a corner. This is not, however, a movie about someone discovering she is gay, or transgender. Its more specific in its viewpoint. Laure likes being Mikael; she has affinity for all the things shes told are feminine, and she likes her new (mainly male) friends. She likes the fact that Lisa, the local girl, likes Mikael; even has a crush on him. At one point Lisa applies make-up to Laure/Mikaels face, and says You look great as a girl but, naturally, she thinks of as a girl and in make-up as virtually synonymous. Girls passing as boys is not new, of course. There was Boys Dont Cry. And Shakespeare. What makes this movie interesting is in the way it shows a child who has not come to terms with his or her identity trying to live in a way that makes them comfortable while everyone else is acutely aware of the vulnerability surrounding such a seemingly innocent decision. Laures parents are loving and even somewhat understanding, but they also know what shell come in for when school starts (or puberty hits). The children she befriends are fairly typical; they too have a degree of innocence, but they also have a lack of understanding and ingrained hostility towards anything that transgresses their notions about gender. The central role is played by Zoé Héran, and shes excellent; even people with very short patience for child actors will be impressed. The rest of the cast offers strong support. The direction, from Sciamma, is confident, as is the photography. Script-wise its less than perfect; its a little slow in places. Perhaps a more lyrical edge was needed to bring us into the world of this child. But at least we arent given reductive explanations or motivations; at no point do you feel like youre being forced a point of view, and the film is incredibly even-handed about the other characters. All sorts of people have all sorts of opinions about sex and gender. I think the movie is fairly open-minded. It doesnt judge its characters not Laure; not her family; not the other kids and is without dramatic contrivance. Its slow pace and intimacy might make it a hard sell for many people, but I found it engaging. Towards the end we see that Laures mother has given birth to a baby. I think they say earlier that its a boy, but I cant remember, and I didnt want to. Whatever its biological sex, it doesnt have a gender yet.