An intimate story about a ballet dancer who is going through hormone therapy while trying to catch up in her classes as she adjusts to the new way of dancing. The film has a positive portrayal of a supportive family and network to help Lara through her transition, but the day to day pressures and the impatience to be her self lead her to desperation.
Previously published at Vulturehound HERE.
Lara is fifteen, a ballet dancer and lives with her younger brother and her father. Having been excepted into a prestigious dance school, her family move closer so she is able to attend. Lara is transgender and in the process of taking hormones in the lead up to her operation. She has to cope with her personal issues which at times are too much, despite having a very supportive family.
Throughout the entire film, we experienced everything Lara does. With the camera rarely away from her face and body, we feel everything she does. It’s refreshing to watch a story about a transgender woman who has is surrounded by a loving family and supportive doctors who worry about her wellbeing and mental state. Lara even has no problems with her classmates at school, that is until at a girls only sleepover party, she is given a separate room. She is also confronted by the girls, asking to see her genitals, claiming that she’s seen theirs in the changing room so why can’t they see hers. This invasion of privacy is a moment that we realise that no matter how much love and support you have, there will always be obstacles on the way to acceptance.
As Lara is a teenager, she had been taking medication to delay pubity and doesn’t think about anything other than ballet. When Lara starts taking the hormones she becomes desperate, taking too many pills, weakening her body and even drastic measures to ensure she gets to be the woman she wants to be. Ballet is known for its discipline and and punishment to the body, Lara punishes herself, working to the bone to catch up, having learnt first as a boy and now as a girl. Ballet serves a symbol for change and sets her up for what she will have to cope with later on.
There is the question about the actor who portrays Lara, Victor Polster and why he was chosen to portray a transgender woman, but this seems like it will always be a questions of why, which is a shame. At first ‘Girl’ is a positive outlook but soon shows its tragic undertones. Lukas Dhont gives an intimate story with what feels like a positive and realistic experience.