Trace Lysette is weighing in on the discourse of cis actors playing trans roles.
At the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place at the beach in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, February 25, Trace Lysette caught up with IndieWire on the “blue” carpet. The trans actress was nominated for Best Lead Performance for her performance in “Monica,” alongside fellow nominees Jessica Chastain, Greta Lee, Natalie Portman, Judy Reyes, Franz Rogowski, Andrew Scott, and Teyana Taylor — Jeffrey Wright ultimately won for “American Fiction.”
Whether it’s appropriate for cis actors to play trans roles has been a matter of increasing debate.
“Well, if all things were equal, maybe it wouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is, but all things are not equal,” Lysette told IndieWire at the Spirits’ blue carpet. “If there’s a trans role, I believe that trans actors should get first dibs.”
“Because, you know,...
At the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place at the beach in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, February 25, Trace Lysette caught up with IndieWire on the “blue” carpet. The trans actress was nominated for Best Lead Performance for her performance in “Monica,” alongside fellow nominees Jessica Chastain, Greta Lee, Natalie Portman, Judy Reyes, Franz Rogowski, Andrew Scott, and Teyana Taylor — Jeffrey Wright ultimately won for “American Fiction.”
Whether it’s appropriate for cis actors to play trans roles has been a matter of increasing debate.
“Well, if all things were equal, maybe it wouldn’t be as big of a deal as it is, but all things are not equal,” Lysette told IndieWire at the Spirits’ blue carpet. “If there’s a trans role, I believe that trans actors should get first dibs.”
“Because, you know,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Vincent Perella
- Indiewire
The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards are set to take place Sunday, February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica, celebrating the year’s best in independent film and television.
The ceremony, hosted by Saturday Night Live alumnus Aidy Bryant, begins at 5 p.m. Et/2 p.m. Pt and will stream live on the YouTube pages of IMDb and Film Independent, and on Film Independent’s X (formerly Twitter) channel.
You can also watch on Deadline here:
Joining Bryant to help hand out trophies Sunday include announced presenters Joel Kim Booster, Adam Brody, Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Quinta Brunson, Emma Corrin, Colman Domingo, Hannah Einbinder, Jim Gaffigan, Ronald Gladden, Stephanie Hsu, Anna Kendrick, Jude Law, Greta Lee, Zoe Lister-Jones, Trace Lysette, James Marsden, Thomasin McKenzie, Natalie Morales, Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola, Emma Roberts, Andrew Scott, Milo Ventimiglia, Jessica Williams and Jimmy O. Yang.
They will be joined by Honorary Chair and Spirit...
The ceremony, hosted by Saturday Night Live alumnus Aidy Bryant, begins at 5 p.m. Et/2 p.m. Pt and will stream live on the YouTube pages of IMDb and Film Independent, and on Film Independent’s X (formerly Twitter) channel.
You can also watch on Deadline here:
Joining Bryant to help hand out trophies Sunday include announced presenters Joel Kim Booster, Adam Brody, Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Quinta Brunson, Emma Corrin, Colman Domingo, Hannah Einbinder, Jim Gaffigan, Ronald Gladden, Stephanie Hsu, Anna Kendrick, Jude Law, Greta Lee, Zoe Lister-Jones, Trace Lysette, James Marsden, Thomasin McKenzie, Natalie Morales, Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola, Emma Roberts, Andrew Scott, Milo Ventimiglia, Jessica Williams and Jimmy O. Yang.
They will be joined by Honorary Chair and Spirit...
- 2/25/2024
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“That was an amazing feeling, when we got that news,” remembers Trace Lysette about hearing that she had been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her leading performance in the film “Monica.” Although she has been acting for a long time, the Andrea Pallaoro film afforded her the “first shot at a lead in a feature,” as she plays the title role, and the actress sees the recognition as a sign that she “didn’t drop the ball.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Lysette, who also executive produced the movie, describes “Monica” as a “labor of love” that took a very long time to bring to fruition, but also one in which she had an active voice. She stresses that director Pallaoro and his cowriter Orlando Tirado were “collaborative” on the character, especially because “they understood that I probably knew Monica better than anyone on set.” “Monica” centers...
Lysette, who also executive produced the movie, describes “Monica” as a “labor of love” that took a very long time to bring to fruition, but also one in which she had an active voice. She stresses that director Pallaoro and his cowriter Orlando Tirado were “collaborative” on the character, especially because “they understood that I probably knew Monica better than anyone on set.” “Monica” centers...
- 1/5/2024
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
When “Monica” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, the response was immediate: The movie received a standing ovation that clocked in at 11-and-a-half minutes. Andrea Pallaoro’s powerful tale of a woman returning home to care for her ailing mother who hasn’t seen her since before her gender transition had already made history by being the first film to feature a trans lead to play the fest. Praise was heaped on star Trace Lysette in the title role and Patricia Clarkson, who portrays her mother, Eugenia.
Still, it wasn’t until November when IFC Films, whose parent company is AMC Networks, picked up North American distribution rights. “‘Monica’ is a terrifically textured film anchored by multiple riveting performances,” says Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks Film Group. “We really responded to Andrea’s vision and felt that it is the type of boundary-pushing, auteur filmmaking we always seek to be associated with.
Still, it wasn’t until November when IFC Films, whose parent company is AMC Networks, picked up North American distribution rights. “‘Monica’ is a terrifically textured film anchored by multiple riveting performances,” says Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks Film Group. “We really responded to Andrea’s vision and felt that it is the type of boundary-pushing, auteur filmmaking we always seek to be associated with.
- 1/4/2024
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
If there’s one takeaway from the LGBTQ narrative films that came into the world and across our screens this year, it’s the sheer variety of the stories there are to tell.
From real-world historical biopics and inspirational sports dramas, to tender love stories and raunchy comedies, there really was something for everyone this year. Captivating characters, fearless performances and narrative tapestries that defy convention and troublesome tropes all reigned supreme. As such, here are some of the best we got.
All of Us Strangers “All of Us Strangers” (Credit: Searchlight Pictures)
A new movie from the director of “Weekend” starring the Hot Priest from “Fleabag” and everyone’s favorite internet boyfriend should be enough to catch the interest of anyone listening — and “All of Us Strangers” lives up to that potential and then some. This equal parts sexy and emotionally devastating romance stars Andrew Scott as an isolated writer who,...
From real-world historical biopics and inspirational sports dramas, to tender love stories and raunchy comedies, there really was something for everyone this year. Captivating characters, fearless performances and narrative tapestries that defy convention and troublesome tropes all reigned supreme. As such, here are some of the best we got.
All of Us Strangers “All of Us Strangers” (Credit: Searchlight Pictures)
A new movie from the director of “Weekend” starring the Hot Priest from “Fleabag” and everyone’s favorite internet boyfriend should be enough to catch the interest of anyone listening — and “All of Us Strangers” lives up to that potential and then some. This equal parts sexy and emotionally devastating romance stars Andrew Scott as an isolated writer who,...
- 12/29/2023
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
Lysette is excellent as a young woman returning home to care for her dying mother in Andrea Pallaoro’s intelligently crafted film
A mysterious miracle is at the heart of this absorbing and superbly acted film from the Italian director Andrea Pallaoro, which refuses the cliched “issue movie” beats of confrontation, catharsis and resolution. Like his previous work Hannah, which starred Charlotte Rampling as the haunted, troubled woman of that name, Monica is marked by its cool compositional rigour: scenes from a life are evoked with studied, often wordless vignettes and middle-distance shots from fixed camera positions, combined occasionally with looming, asymmetrical closeups.
Trans performer Trace Lysette plays Monica, who has an income from sex work and who, perhaps for professional reasons, has cultivated a coolly resonant, pleasingly modulated voice, which nonetheless rises to anger in various phone conversations of which we hear just one side: conversations with her partner...
A mysterious miracle is at the heart of this absorbing and superbly acted film from the Italian director Andrea Pallaoro, which refuses the cliched “issue movie” beats of confrontation, catharsis and resolution. Like his previous work Hannah, which starred Charlotte Rampling as the haunted, troubled woman of that name, Monica is marked by its cool compositional rigour: scenes from a life are evoked with studied, often wordless vignettes and middle-distance shots from fixed camera positions, combined occasionally with looming, asymmetrical closeups.
Trans performer Trace Lysette plays Monica, who has an income from sex work and who, perhaps for professional reasons, has cultivated a coolly resonant, pleasingly modulated voice, which nonetheless rises to anger in various phone conversations of which we hear just one side: conversations with her partner...
- 12/12/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Outfest has found the headliners for its upcoming Legacy Awards: Shirley MacLaine and Trace Lysette.
The pair will be feted at the organization’s gala fundraiser which will be held at NeueHouse Hollywood on Oct. 22. MacLaine will receive the James Schamus Ally Award while Lysette will take home the Trailblazer Award during the Genesis Motor America-presented event.
The Schamus trophy was created to recognize “an ally’s efforts to foster LGBTQ+ moving images and to promote the communities’ stories to a broader audience.” Lysette’s honor is given to someone who has contributed to the history of the community, shedding light on the core of the LGBTQ+ identity and experience.
“Shirley’s illustrious career has not only enthralled generations but her unwavering allegiance to the LGBTQ+ community has been a beacon of hope. Trace, with her groundbreaking performances, is courageously highlighting the essence of the trans journey,” said Outfest executive director Damien S.
The pair will be feted at the organization’s gala fundraiser which will be held at NeueHouse Hollywood on Oct. 22. MacLaine will receive the James Schamus Ally Award while Lysette will take home the Trailblazer Award during the Genesis Motor America-presented event.
The Schamus trophy was created to recognize “an ally’s efforts to foster LGBTQ+ moving images and to promote the communities’ stories to a broader audience.” Lysette’s honor is given to someone who has contributed to the history of the community, shedding light on the core of the LGBTQ+ identity and experience.
“Shirley’s illustrious career has not only enthralled generations but her unwavering allegiance to the LGBTQ+ community has been a beacon of hope. Trace, with her groundbreaking performances, is courageously highlighting the essence of the trans journey,” said Outfest executive director Damien S.
- 9/21/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Outfest on Thursday announced Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine and Transparent breakout Trace Lysette as the recipients of its 2023 Legacy Awards, which will be presented at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Sunday, October 22nd.
MacLaine will be bestowed with the James Schamus Ally Award, recognizing an ally’s efforts to foster LGBTQ+ moving images and to promote the communities’ stories to a broader audience. Lysette, meanwhile, is set for the Trailblazer Award, recognizing an artist who has contributed to the history of the community, shedding light on the core of the LGBTQ+ identity and experience.
The pair joins a list of Outfest Legacy Award recipients that includes Janelle Monáe, Billy Porter, Tom Hanks, Judith Light, Rita Moreno, Lee Daniels, Hilary Swank, Sean Hayes, Laverne Cox, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Bruce Cohen, Lisa Cholodenko, Craig Zadan & Neil Meron, Tanya Saracho, Victoria Alonso, and Rain Valdez, among others.
Said Outfest’s Executive Director Damien S.
MacLaine will be bestowed with the James Schamus Ally Award, recognizing an ally’s efforts to foster LGBTQ+ moving images and to promote the communities’ stories to a broader audience. Lysette, meanwhile, is set for the Trailblazer Award, recognizing an artist who has contributed to the history of the community, shedding light on the core of the LGBTQ+ identity and experience.
The pair joins a list of Outfest Legacy Award recipients that includes Janelle Monáe, Billy Porter, Tom Hanks, Judith Light, Rita Moreno, Lee Daniels, Hilary Swank, Sean Hayes, Laverne Cox, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Bruce Cohen, Lisa Cholodenko, Craig Zadan & Neil Meron, Tanya Saracho, Victoria Alonso, and Rain Valdez, among others.
Said Outfest’s Executive Director Damien S.
- 9/21/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran actor Patricia Clarkson thinks it’s time for her “Monica” co-star Trace Lysette to play the love interest of the “hot guys in Hollywood.”
“The next big step is to play opposite Brad Pitt,” she tells Variety. “It’s time for her to be the love interest of these stars. It’s where she belongs.”
The two actors are both on the awards circuit for the critically acclaimed drama which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year, resulting in Lysette receiving an 11-minute standing ovation. The “Transparent” actor was the first openly transgender performer to headline a film in competition at the oldest running festival in the world. After acquiring the movie in December, IFC Films released it in theaters on May 12, 10 days after the start of the WGA strike.
Now, the poignant drama is among the first movies previously released in theaters to receive...
“The next big step is to play opposite Brad Pitt,” she tells Variety. “It’s time for her to be the love interest of these stars. It’s where she belongs.”
The two actors are both on the awards circuit for the critically acclaimed drama which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year, resulting in Lysette receiving an 11-minute standing ovation. The “Transparent” actor was the first openly transgender performer to headline a film in competition at the oldest running festival in the world. After acquiring the movie in December, IFC Films released it in theaters on May 12, 10 days after the start of the WGA strike.
Now, the poignant drama is among the first movies previously released in theaters to receive...
- 8/25/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Summer movie season has officially begun at multiplexes everywhere, but the start of June also brings four indie titles to digital platforms. Our pick is a quiet drama that reaches beyond the standard mother-daughter dynamics commonly seen onscreen.
The contender to watch this week: “Monica”
After breakthrough supporting parts in “Transparent” and “Hustlers,” Trace Lysette finally gets the lead role she has deserved. Lysette is enchanting in “Monica,” playing a transgender massage therapist who reluctantly returns home to care for her estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson). After premiering at last year’s Venice Film Festival and gaining a fair amount of indie cred during its theatrical rollout in May, this is the type of movie that could very well show up on the Independent Spirit Awards’ roster. Rent it on VOD.
Other contenders:
“BlackBerry“: If “Air” and “Tetris” didn’t scratch your itch for juicy corporate heroism, here comes the...
The contender to watch this week: “Monica”
After breakthrough supporting parts in “Transparent” and “Hustlers,” Trace Lysette finally gets the lead role she has deserved. Lysette is enchanting in “Monica,” playing a transgender massage therapist who reluctantly returns home to care for her estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson). After premiering at last year’s Venice Film Festival and gaining a fair amount of indie cred during its theatrical rollout in May, this is the type of movie that could very well show up on the Independent Spirit Awards’ roster. Rent it on VOD.
Other contenders:
“BlackBerry“: If “Air” and “Tetris” didn’t scratch your itch for juicy corporate heroism, here comes the...
- 6/3/2023
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
Trace Lysette is in a hotel room on 8th Street in New York City when she jumps on a Zoom video call with Variety to talk about her new movie, “Monica.”
In just a couple of hours, she’s set to walk the red carpet at the indie drama’s premiere at the IFC Center.
“I used to turn tricks a few blocks from there,” Lysette says.
Like so many trans women, Lysette once turned to sex work as a means of survival. “I was a young person alone in New York doing God knows what to survive,” says Lysette, who was raised in Ohio. “Last night we had a screening at The [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community] Center here. That was so heavy for me because I got my gender identity therapy there 20 years ago.”
Over the last few years, Lysette has been building a career in Hollywood. She is most known for her...
In just a couple of hours, she’s set to walk the red carpet at the indie drama’s premiere at the IFC Center.
“I used to turn tricks a few blocks from there,” Lysette says.
Like so many trans women, Lysette once turned to sex work as a means of survival. “I was a young person alone in New York doing God knows what to survive,” says Lysette, who was raised in Ohio. “Last night we had a screening at The [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community] Center here. That was so heavy for me because I got my gender identity therapy there 20 years ago.”
Over the last few years, Lysette has been building a career in Hollywood. She is most known for her...
- 5/12/2023
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Actor, who rose to fame with a supporting role in Transparent, leads new drama Monica, about a trans woman returning home
“I feel proud that we made a piece of art that trusts the audience,” Trace Lysette told me about her new film Monica, in which she plays the title character, a trans woman who returns home after decades of estrangement to reconcile with her dying mother. “I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a film with a trans person as the lead. It’s not lost on me that this is special.”
It’s been a long road for Lysette to her first role as a leading lady. The actor first gained attention for a role on Transparent as a trans yoga teacher in 2014, which led her to come out publicly as trans shortly thereafter. It was eight years between that role and...
“I feel proud that we made a piece of art that trusts the audience,” Trace Lysette told me about her new film Monica, in which she plays the title character, a trans woman who returns home after decades of estrangement to reconcile with her dying mother. “I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a film with a trans person as the lead. It’s not lost on me that this is special.”
It’s been a long road for Lysette to her first role as a leading lady. The actor first gained attention for a role on Transparent as a trans yoga teacher in 2014, which led her to come out publicly as trans shortly thereafter. It was eight years between that role and...
- 5/12/2023
- by Veronica Esposito
- The Guardian - Film News
The poignant family drama “Monica” is full of artful mirror shots, serving striking visual reminders of the many angles that shape a life. There’s also something poetic about the sidelong coverage when you consider the film’s luminous star has spent her career as a supporting act — when she’s clearly meant to be a leading lady. Whether she’s seen in a sleek compact, a glancing rearview, or a profile in patina, there’s no such thing as too much Trace Lysette. Delivering both gravitas and levity as the central character in “Monica,” she’s finally given the chance to shine.
Most audiences will recognize Lysette from her breakthrough role as Shea in the groundbreaking series “Transparent,” or opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” where her casting was a major boon for trans representation in a studio movie. Even with such high profile gigs, it’s been a long...
Most audiences will recognize Lysette from her breakthrough role as Shea in the groundbreaking series “Transparent,” or opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” where her casting was a major boon for trans representation in a studio movie. Even with such high profile gigs, it’s been a long...
- 5/10/2023
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Patricia Clarkson is no stranger to playing a mother in turmoil.
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Trace Lysette in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
In Andrea Pallaoro’s striking third feature, Monica, Trace Lysette plays the title character, a trans webcam performer, who returns home and tries to reconnect with her ailing mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Continuing the director’s exploration of family and relationships in an effort to understand human nature, it refrains from offering answers, instead borrowing from Michelangelo Antonioni’s non-intrusive and observational approach, Pallaoro invites his audience to embrace and understand the fractured family at the heart of his film.
Lysette spoke with Eye For Film about the collaborative relationship she shared with Pallaoro, and the film’s contribution to conversations about representation for trans people.
Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Paul Risker: When you first read the script, what drew your interest in the character of Monica?...
In Andrea Pallaoro’s striking third feature, Monica, Trace Lysette plays the title character, a trans webcam performer, who returns home and tries to reconnect with her ailing mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Continuing the director’s exploration of family and relationships in an effort to understand human nature, it refrains from offering answers, instead borrowing from Michelangelo Antonioni’s non-intrusive and observational approach, Pallaoro invites his audience to embrace and understand the fractured family at the heart of his film.
Lysette spoke with Eye For Film about the collaborative relationship she shared with Pallaoro, and the film’s contribution to conversations about representation for trans people.
Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Paul Risker: When you first read the script, what drew your interest in the character of Monica?...
- 5/7/2023
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica bursts out of the gate with a shot that announces its distinctive style: a protracted close-up of the eponymous character (Trace Lysette) in a tanning bed, throbbing music playing in the background. Before a word is even uttered, Pallaoro’s film, which was shot in full frame, articulates how stifled Monica is by the world. But the observational nature of the shot also signals Pallaoro’s approach to the narrative, as Monica’s painterly compositions and intricate blocking invite viewers to study the body language of its reticent characters in order to understand them and their mysterious pasts.
On the surface, the film follows Monica, a trans woman, as she returns home after a very long absence in order to reconnect with her estranged and dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), who had disowned Monica for, generally speaking, failing to accept her sexuality. But Pallaoro and co-writer...
On the surface, the film follows Monica, a trans woman, as she returns home after a very long absence in order to reconnect with her estranged and dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), who had disowned Monica for, generally speaking, failing to accept her sexuality. But Pallaoro and co-writer...
- 5/7/2023
- by Wes Greene
- Slant Magazine
Los Angeles-based Italian director Andrea Pallaoro’s delicate drama “Monica” is finally set to open in U.S. theaters via IFC following its world premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
The film starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, marked the first time an openly-transgender actress headlined a Venice competition title.
In “Monica” Lysette plays a woman who from Los Angeles goes back to her suburban midwest home for the first time since she was a teenager to care for her mom who had rejected her when she transitioned.
“For me, it was always crucial that Monica was an expression of a woman who returns home and really connects,” Pallaoro told Variety when the film launched from the Lido.
“Who forgives, and finds a connection with the world that she...
The film starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, marked the first time an openly-transgender actress headlined a Venice competition title.
In “Monica” Lysette plays a woman who from Los Angeles goes back to her suburban midwest home for the first time since she was a teenager to care for her mom who had rejected her when she transitioned.
“For me, it was always crucial that Monica was an expression of a woman who returns home and really connects,” Pallaoro told Variety when the film launched from the Lido.
“Who forgives, and finds a connection with the world that she...
- 3/23/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Transparent’s Trace Lysette stars in the Venice Competition title Monica, directed and co-written by Andrea Pallaoro, who returns to the Lido after his films Medeas and Hannah.
Set in the U.S., Monica stars Lysette as the titular character, a trans woman who is summoned home to help care for her dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). The casting gives a strong clue to Monica’s birth gender, but the subject is rarely addressed head-on; rather lurking in the background, occasionally alluded to with pointed stories about kids and fall-outs. Eugenia appears not to recognize Monica, mistaking her for hired help, but as the bond between them increases, both the audience and Monica begin to wonder how much she really knows about the new arrival in the home.
It’s a tender portrait of familial reconnection in difficult circumstances, with terrific performances. Clarkson puts in a sensitive, characterful turn, with...
Set in the U.S., Monica stars Lysette as the titular character, a trans woman who is summoned home to help care for her dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). The casting gives a strong clue to Monica’s birth gender, but the subject is rarely addressed head-on; rather lurking in the background, occasionally alluded to with pointed stories about kids and fall-outs. Eugenia appears not to recognize Monica, mistaking her for hired help, but as the bond between them increases, both the audience and Monica begin to wonder how much she really knows about the new arrival in the home.
It’s a tender portrait of familial reconnection in difficult circumstances, with terrific performances. Clarkson puts in a sensitive, characterful turn, with...
- 9/3/2022
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
Mirrors are more than just refracted light — they are how we see ourselves and a reflection of how others see us. Reflections are everywhere in “Monica,” an understated family drama starring Trace Lysette as a woman who reluctantly returns home to see her estranged and ailing mother. Shot in an elegant 1:1 aspect ratio, we see Monica through French doors left ajar, in the glass frames of childhood photos, and the patina of the antique mirror in her mother’s girlish bedroom. If there is a reflection to be found, Monica is there.
Caustic and frail, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) doesn’t recognize her daughter, though it’s unclear whether that’s the dementia or because Monica is trans. Spare but poignant, “Monica” is
The film opens with New Order’s “Bizarre Love,” on an extreme close-up of Monica in metallic tanning goggles. Outside in her red convertible, we see her in profile from slightly behind,...
Caustic and frail, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) doesn’t recognize her daughter, though it’s unclear whether that’s the dementia or because Monica is trans. Spare but poignant, “Monica” is
The film opens with New Order’s “Bizarre Love,” on an extreme close-up of Monica in metallic tanning goggles. Outside in her red convertible, we see her in profile from slightly behind,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The first shot of writer-director Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica” shows the eponymous heroine (Trace Lysette) in what looks like a tanning bed as the New Order song “Bizarre Love Triangle” plays on the soundtrack. The aspect ratio this movie is shot in is unusually narrow, and this aids the sense that Lysette’s Monica feels both isolated and trapped.
Pallaoro is Italian, and so as we watch Lysette’s Monica in long scenes where she is stuck in compositions behind doors and windows as she makes calls to people who seem to have abandoned her, it feels like Pallaoro is riffing on the movies that Italian maestro Michelangelo Antonioni made in the 1960s with Monica Vitti, especially “L’Eclisse.”
There are times in this early section of “Monica” where the framing can be a little much, particularly when we see Monica behind a door frame with a window that looks like a cross.
Pallaoro is Italian, and so as we watch Lysette’s Monica in long scenes where she is stuck in compositions behind doors and windows as she makes calls to people who seem to have abandoned her, it feels like Pallaoro is riffing on the movies that Italian maestro Michelangelo Antonioni made in the 1960s with Monica Vitti, especially “L’Eclisse.”
There are times in this early section of “Monica” where the framing can be a little much, particularly when we see Monica behind a door frame with a window that looks like a cross.
- 9/3/2022
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
After supporting turns in Transparent and Hustlers, the magnetic Trace Lysette takes the lead as a woman who returns home to care for her dying, long-estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson) in Andrea Pallaoro’s Venice competition entry Monica. It’s an all too rare instance of a trans actress occupying nearly every frame of a fictional feature. The result, alas, doesn’t live up to the promise of the occasion, turning the character’s journey into fodder for a sluggish exercise in formalism.
As in his previous movies, Medeas and Hannah, the director (collaborating with screenwriting partner Orlando Tirado) tries to wring tension from visual and narrative austerity — a mostly static camera, deliberate pacing and parsimoniously doled out bits of backstory. But Hannah had a masterful Charlotte Rampling seeming to invent new ways to embody unhappiness before our very eyes, and Medeas was imbued with an atmospheric,...
After supporting turns in Transparent and Hustlers, the magnetic Trace Lysette takes the lead as a woman who returns home to care for her dying, long-estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson) in Andrea Pallaoro’s Venice competition entry Monica. It’s an all too rare instance of a trans actress occupying nearly every frame of a fictional feature. The result, alas, doesn’t live up to the promise of the occasion, turning the character’s journey into fodder for a sluggish exercise in formalism.
As in his previous movies, Medeas and Hannah, the director (collaborating with screenwriting partner Orlando Tirado) tries to wring tension from visual and narrative austerity — a mostly static camera, deliberate pacing and parsimoniously doled out bits of backstory. But Hannah had a masterful Charlotte Rampling seeming to invent new ways to embody unhappiness before our very eyes, and Medeas was imbued with an atmospheric,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Jon Frosch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Trace Lysette got to Venice for the premiere of the Andrea Pallaoro-directed drama Monica, she learned that she becomes the first Trans actress to headline a competition film here. Lysette plays the title character, a Trans woman who comes home to care for the mother who rejected her years ago, The young woman has a lot of personal issues she is working through, but among the most frustrating is that the mental faculties of her mother (Patricia Clarkson) are failing along with her health. She doesn’t recognize her child, and Monica tries her best to build a bond as her caretaker. Lysette was a regular in the Amazon series Transparent, and she co-starred with Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in Hustlers. But this is her first leading role in a movie. We met at the Excelsior hotel for a Disruptors party thrown by Deadline, Thelios and Guillotine Vodka.
- 9/3/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
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Fans of Transparent will recognize Trace Lysette. For five seasons on Amazon’s groundbreaking gender- and genre-breaking series, she played Shea, a transgender yoga teacher who helps Jeffrey Tambor’s character — and the non-trans audience — understand trans lingo and culture.
It was also Lysette who came forward, in 2017, with claims that Tambor had sexually harassed her on the Transparent set, one of several allegations that led Tambor to exit the show after its fourth season.
Her performance as Shea helped get Lysette the role of Tracey in Lorene Scafaria’s 2019 blockbuster Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez, one of the first times a trans actor had a starring turn in a major Hollywood film.
And then, nothing. Aside from the occasional guest appearance, voice work on Netflix’s short-lived LGBTQ animated series Q-Force and a supporting turn in Ty Hodges’ Venus as a Boy,...
Fans of Transparent will recognize Trace Lysette. For five seasons on Amazon’s groundbreaking gender- and genre-breaking series, she played Shea, a transgender yoga teacher who helps Jeffrey Tambor’s character — and the non-trans audience — understand trans lingo and culture.
It was also Lysette who came forward, in 2017, with claims that Tambor had sexually harassed her on the Transparent set, one of several allegations that led Tambor to exit the show after its fourth season.
Her performance as Shea helped get Lysette the role of Tracey in Lorene Scafaria’s 2019 blockbuster Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez, one of the first times a trans actor had a starring turn in a major Hollywood film.
And then, nothing. Aside from the occasional guest appearance, voice work on Netflix’s short-lived LGBTQ animated series Q-Force and a supporting turn in Ty Hodges’ Venus as a Boy,...
- 9/1/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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