Just Charlie (2018)
Directed by Rebekah Fortune
Written by Peter Machen
Starring Harry Gilby, Scot Williams, Mark Carter
Release Date January 26th, 2019
Just Charlie left me an emotional mess. This story about a boy realizing that he is a girl is one of the most emotional experiences that I have had watching a movie. I like to believe that I am an ally to people like Charlie and most certainly am in my heart. Just Charlie, however, reminded me that I have so much to learn and to understand about the experience of someone who is struggling to be whom they really are.
Just Charlie stars young Harry Gilby as Charlie, a standout football/soccer player with a chance to move on to Premiere League. He’s being recruited and his father, Paul (Scot Williams), is over the moon about his son’s success. Paul was a footballer as a young man, but injuries left him unable to succeed in the way Charlie can and like so many struggling fathers, he’s trying to live his dream through his son.
Charlie, however, has a secret; he’s a woman. I apologize as I am going to get the pro-nouns wrong which is not something an ally is supposed to do. It’s part of my learning process. If I use an incorrect term in reference to Charlie, please know that I am working on it. The early scenes of Harry Gilby’s performance are incredibly moving. I worried for a moment that the film was perhaps too invasive, voyeuristic, but soon the film finds just the right balance between respecting Charlie and letting us into her mind.
Things have been very easy me throughout my life. I am a straight, white, male, who has never had to struggle with my identity or with the mindless scorn of mindless people. Watching Charlie struggle and fight within and without floored me. I was always aware of this struggle, and I have seen it portrayed in other works, but something about this teenage girl, this child, having to feel like this and feel so confused and alone, broke my heart into a million pieces.
Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal.
