A Fantastic Woman
Composite Score: 82.07
Starring: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Nicolás Saavedra, Amparo Noguera, and Sergio Hernández
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Writers: Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza
Genres: Drama, LGBTQ+, Romance
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content, nudity, and a disturbing assault
Box Office: $3.84 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
A Fantastic Woman is Chilean director Sebastián Lelio’s film about a transgender woman, Marina (Daniela Vega), and her hardships following the death of her boyfriend Orlando. The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2018, and it features some quality acting and a unique story that highlights modern issues that are becoming increasingly relevant. Lelio’s visual aesthetic in this film helps bring home the film’s story, adding beauty and scale to each scene. It is undoubtedly a great film, worthy of its place on our list.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
A Fantastic Woman features some highly difficult subject matter and hard to watch situations with only a vaguely cathartic resolution and slight upswing at the end. Obviously, in dealing with the subject of a trans woman dating an older, formerly married man, the film is going to have some intense engagement with the plight of trans people in the world. Because her boyfriend was married and had children before they got together (and before his untimely death), Marina has to deal with a lot of negative feedback from the old family. Orlando’s ex-wife takes her car, which had been Orlando’s, and on meeting her, expresses confusion at how to address her, calling her a “chimera”, and even asking why Orlando would want to be with her (switching up pronouns consistently in the conversation). During a later meeting, Sonia deadnames Marina with very few consequences as well. Orlando’s son Bruno is less subtle with his harassment, forcing Marina to move out of the apartment she shared with his father, keeping her dog, and eventually taking his friends in a truck to follow her and then assault her before dumping her in an alley. If any of these events sound triggering or too disturbing for you to partake in, I'd avoid watching this film. However, I believe that the film shows them not to glorify harassment or violence against trans people but to raise awareness about how trans people are often treated by others in society.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Daniela Vega’s performance as Marina is brilliantly done. For one thing, she brings a refreshing change of pace to typical film castings, being a trans woman playing a trans woman, giving the role and film even more authenticity. Her singing capabilities are showcased throughout the film as well, as her character is an aspiring operatic singer, which is a talent that the actress also possesses. In terms of pure acting performance, she brings so much to the role, delivering a performance that many argued should have been nominated for an Oscar. She brings romance, passion, timidity, frustration, and satisfaction to a role that is wildly dynamic in a way that feels entirely natural throughout the film’s run. It never feels as though she is acting, rather it all comes so naturally.
In addition to having a trans actor play a trans character, A Fantastic Woman also takes a different approach to stories about trans people from some other mainstream films (see The Danish Girl). This film does very little to engage with Marina’s life before she transitioned officially – in fact, the only references come in Sonia’s deadname and a police officer’s use of Marina’s old ID info. Marina gets to be Marina, and the audience gets to watch her dealing with grief and loss, much more relatable emotions to most audience members. This altered focus helps make the film more progressive and actually a successful and poignant reminder that trans people are just people like everybody else. In a world where they are so often villainized, humanization becomes incredibly important, and this film takes major steps to do so.
A refreshingly original take, a consistently solid lead performance, and some beautifully framed shots bring greatness to A Fantastic Woman, making it well worthy of its place among the Greatest Films of All Time. The difficulty of the subject matter might be a turn-off for some, but the message of positivity and relatability is so important and makes the film worth watching despite its difficulties. This one is currently only available for rental on various streaming services if you want to check it out.
