“We’re all going on a summer holiday”. Much as this old song might tempt us to think that this is what we want, award winning director Luis De Filippis’s first feature length film reminds us that those family holidays aren’t always filled with happiness and harmony.
Twenty-something trans daughter Ren (superbly played by newcomer Carmen Madonia) and her younger sister Siena (Paige Evans) are the backseat passengers heading to Ontario cottage country with their parents. Dad hasn’t been able to secure a cottage on the beach, but mom is still wildly trying to create a nostalgic vacation from the past. Both daughters go along with mom’s plan. They play the family card games. They suntan on the beach. But most of their time is spent vaping (Ren) or partying with new friends (Siena).
This movie has the languid feel of summer at the beach and ordinary family dynamics. Yet the story lingers long after viewing. It is refreshing to watch a movie where the main character is trans and this is seen as completely natural. No one even remarks on it. Thank you to De Filippis and this superb cast for making the ordinary extraordinary.
Something You Said Last Night is now playing at TIFF ’22. For screening information, click here.
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