For as long as I've been a devotee of cinema, I've followed the career of Patricia Clarkson. Patricia is a genuine queen of the screen, featuring in films like The Station Agent, Far From Heaven, The Green Mile, and Pieces of April, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Her latest films is the magnificent drama film Monica, featuring Trace Lysette (Transparent, Hustlers) who plays the titular character, a trans woman who poses as a support worker to visit her dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Due to Eugenia's abusive nature, Monica left the family years ago, only to be drawn back into the fold by her sister-in-law, Laura (Emily Browning), to make amends with her mother.
Unresolved trauma hovers under the surface of Monica's exterior, with Trace Lysette delivering a performance that stuns with its authenticity and complexity, and when she shares the screen with Patricia Clarkson, the film truly soars. Director Andrea Pallaoro, alongside co-writer Orlando Tirado, has crafted a masterful trans narrative which was part of a landmark year of LGBTIQA+ cinema in 2023.
In the above interview, Patricia talks about her work throughout the years, the importance of celebrating and championing queer voices, and the joy of working alongside Trace Lysette.
Monica screens at the upcoming Mardis Gras Queer Screen festival, running in cinemas in Sydney from 15-29 February 2024, with select films heading online for on demand screenings across Australia from 1-11 March 2024. Tickets can be purchased at QueerScreen.com.au. The festival features an array of panel discussions including chats about Queer Tropes and Trauma on Screen, Films That Made You Feel Seen, and more, alongside a wide array of features, documentaries, and short films, including All of Us Strangers, Mutt, The Missing, Isla's Way, The People's Joker, Kokomo City, a celebration of the work of John Waters with a screening of Female Trouble, and even a sing-along of The Sound of Music. There's something for everyone.
Monica screens at Queer Screen on Tuesday 27 February 2024.
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