ReelBob: ‘A Fantastic Woman’ ★★★ 1/2
By Bob Bloom
“A Fantastic Woman” is a stunning and well-crafted drama about an individual’s right to live her life as she sees fit, despite the prejudice and scorn of others.
This Chilean feature, which just was honored as the best foreign-language film at the 90th Academy Awards, tells a story of dignity, self-identity and self-worth in the face of societal discrimination.
Daniela Vega stars as Marina, a waitress and aspiring singer, who is planning a future with Orlando, an older man. They are in love, as evidenced by the tenderness of the scenes Vega shares with Francisco Reyes’ Orlando.
Marina’s life is shattered when Orlando unexpectedly suffers a fatal aneurysm.
Marina, who rushed Orlando to the hospital, is not given any time to mourn her loss. Instead, she is treated with suspicion by the medical staff as well as the police.
The reason: Marina is a trans-woman, which casts doubt and intolerance on her and Orlando’s relationship.
Almost immediately, Marina faces hostility from Orlando’s family: She is barred from the funeral, his ex-wife wants his car back and his son wants her to vacate the apartment she and Orlando shared.
Orlando’s family claims to be mourning his death, but they seem to spend more time harassing and persecuting Marina. They are disgusted with her life choices and consider her sexual identity an aberration and perversion.
The sympathies of director Sebastián Lelio, who coauthored the script, are definitely with Marina.
Unfortunately, that is “A Fantastic Woman’s” major problem. It is too black-and-white. Orlando’s family, with the exception of his brother, Gabo (Luis Gnecco), are hateful and spiteful individuals.
Marina mostly bears the humiliations with a stoicism that, while laudable, does not feel authentic. The script makes her too much the martyr and victim.
The one sequence in which Marina does fight back comes too late, and while it gives you some satisfaction, you yearn for more.
The performance of Vega, a trans-woman, carries the movie. Her silences speak volumes. When she is confronted by members of Orlando’s family, she bottles up the resentment and hurt that burns inside, not so much for herself, but as not to tarnish the legacy of the man she loved and to preserve the memory of what the two of them meant to each other.
Vega conveys the heartbreak of Marina’s loss, as well as the awareness of the precarious situation in which she finds herself because of her life choice.
Throughout the film, Vega remains true to Marina’s core values, refusing to lash out at the ignorance that is wronging her.
Vega is a performer to watch, and I hope to see her on screen often in the coming years.
“A Fantastic Woman” is a movie for our time, covering issues about inclusion and identity that seem to be heightened in today’s polarized world.
It is a heart-wrenching movie whose ferocity is restrained, making it even more tragic and powerful.
I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
A FANTASTIC WOMAN
3½ stars out of 4
(R), sexual content, nudity, violence, language