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★★★½☆
27 November 2015
A movie review of ABOUT RAY a.k.a. 3 GENERATIONS. |
“You’re too old to use that word,” Dolly (Susan Sarandon)
A transgender teenager, firmly desiring to make the physical transformation from female to male, might have had this story cut short immediately, by viewing from parental perspective: Requesting the child to wait until turning 18. ABOUT RAY halts such train of thought by mother Maggie (Naomi Watts) agonising over the dilemma, what if daughter Ramona/Ray (Elle Fanning) commits suicide in the time till adulthood, or the opposite that Ray realises he made a big mistake after it is too late. The title is a misnomer; we do not get inside his head, the film really concerns the familial reaction.
A transgender teenager, firmly desiring to make the physical transformation from female to male, might have had this story cut short immediately, by viewing from parental perspective: Requesting the child to wait until turning 18. ABOUT RAY halts such train of thought by mother Maggie (Naomi Watts) agonising over the dilemma, what if daughter Ramona/Ray (Elle Fanning) commits suicide in the time till adulthood, or the opposite that Ray realises he made a big mistake after it is too late. The title is a misnomer; we do not get inside his head, the film really concerns the familial reaction.
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So ABOUT RAY skirts the topic of teen self-determination and identity formation. We are not given enough time with the titular character to gain a purchase on his personality. Focus is the rearing conundrum of the caring, sensitive relations around Ray. A bohemian household is chosen for the setting. Beyond the coming out and struggle for initial acceptance, the movie takes as granted we are all on the same open-minded page.
Three generations of women live in a homely New York house: Ray, Maggie and the latter’s mother, Dolly, and her partner Frances (Linda Emond). Sarandon is on enjoyably straight talking form - entertainingly verbally brutal except when aimed at you. Dinner table conversation hones in on her own lack of imagination (questioning those who lay claim to liberal progressives), by having her ask Ray why he cannot be a lesbian. “Authenticity” is the single word answer shutting down the argument.
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For hormone treatment to begin, both parents on the birth certificate must consent. Soap-opera levels, of romantic entanglement, hammer home that actually the focus is Maggie. Her past is complicated to say the least, and is now unattached - fearing littering her life further with more emotional landmines. Seeking out Ray’s estranged father, Craig (Tate Donovan), and the attempt to convince him, becomes the main plot drive. Swallowing the revelations takes a long time after the credits roll. Balking subsides due to savouring the commitment of the classy cast.
ABOUT RAY slightly trips itself up, by making Ray actually pretty annoying – try-hard hipsterisms (jazz piano, filming on phone skateboarding, vocabulary), lacking empathy himself (though can be forgiven due to age) and humourlessness – it slightly derails proceedings. Being an unlikeable lead is bold, making him (unintentionally) grating is not.
ABOUT RAY has minor flaws, but the central question posed is an engaging one.
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