For young adults, family vacations are often uneventful and unexciting. They're a time for slipping back into a role that may no longer fit — and yet, so often, they stand out vividly in our memories. This is exactly how Luis De Filippis's first feature, Something You Said Last Night, feels. A slow and tender depiction of a Canadian-Italian family's lakeside vacation, the film sees the oldest daughter in a family of four, Ren (Carmen Madonia), caught between wanting independence and seeking the comfort of her family while struggling to tell them she has been let go from her job.
Between frequent quarrels, Ren's family is exceptionally loving, understanding and accepting of one another. Tense fights that one might expect to ruin the vacation are juxtaposed with playful and warm displays of affection soon after. Ren's tattoo-covered father (Joe Parro) is portrayed as a classic Italian dad, while simultaneously being gentle and entirely accepting of his transgender daughter. Ren's mother (Ramona Milano) is overbearing and harsh, but always lovingly calls Ren "Mama," responding to her quiet nods and brief answers as if she knows exactly what she means. Ren and her sister (Paige Evans) often fight, but they forgive easily. It's clear that Ren's family loves her for who she is.
Ren is passionate yet reserved; we get to know her in her silences and passive observations of her family amid the chaotic moments on their vacation. At various points of the film, we find her insecure and confident, mean and warm. She's struggling to make her way, but she doesn't want to tell her family for fear of them needing to take care of her. These sides of her blend seamlessly. It's a stunning acting debut by Carmen Macedonia, who brings all of Ren to life gracefully.
Ren's character is just one example of how Something You Said Last Night understands balance and does it well. The film finds stunning moments of love and intimacy in a family that is far from perfect. It weaves together desire and acceptance in its characters. Notably, Ren's transgender identity is not foregrounded in her experience of the family vacation, or as the defining trait of her personality.
De Filippis demonstrates that she knows what the audience might expect from a coming-of-age film with a transgender lead, but she gives us something else. It's not at all a film about a trans woman struggling in society; in fact, her being trans is never directly addressed, yet it's present in glances from strangers and Ren's sense of unease being in the conservative beach town. It's a shining example of the magic that results from trans representation and diversity in sharing trans stories.
It's clear there is real talent behind the writing in Something You Said Last Night; it almost feels like the audience is a future version of Ren, remembering vividly this particular summer vacation and this liminal point in her early adulthood. The film's pacing embodies that of a family vacation, too; for most of the film the family is just hanging out, lazily looking at their phones, enjoying the water and sleeping in, coexisting.
In Something You Said Last Night, De Filippis highlights Ren's humanity beautifully and invites her audience to share an intimate moment with her immensely real and relatable family. It's an impressive debut of the writer-director, whose care and intention with the subject matter and immersive writing shows incredible promise for what's next in her career.
(Elevation Pictures)Between frequent quarrels, Ren's family is exceptionally loving, understanding and accepting of one another. Tense fights that one might expect to ruin the vacation are juxtaposed with playful and warm displays of affection soon after. Ren's tattoo-covered father (Joe Parro) is portrayed as a classic Italian dad, while simultaneously being gentle and entirely accepting of his transgender daughter. Ren's mother (Ramona Milano) is overbearing and harsh, but always lovingly calls Ren "Mama," responding to her quiet nods and brief answers as if she knows exactly what she means. Ren and her sister (Paige Evans) often fight, but they forgive easily. It's clear that Ren's family loves her for who she is.
Ren is passionate yet reserved; we get to know her in her silences and passive observations of her family amid the chaotic moments on their vacation. At various points of the film, we find her insecure and confident, mean and warm. She's struggling to make her way, but she doesn't want to tell her family for fear of them needing to take care of her. These sides of her blend seamlessly. It's a stunning acting debut by Carmen Macedonia, who brings all of Ren to life gracefully.
Ren's character is just one example of how Something You Said Last Night understands balance and does it well. The film finds stunning moments of love and intimacy in a family that is far from perfect. It weaves together desire and acceptance in its characters. Notably, Ren's transgender identity is not foregrounded in her experience of the family vacation, or as the defining trait of her personality.
De Filippis demonstrates that she knows what the audience might expect from a coming-of-age film with a transgender lead, but she gives us something else. It's not at all a film about a trans woman struggling in society; in fact, her being trans is never directly addressed, yet it's present in glances from strangers and Ren's sense of unease being in the conservative beach town. It's a shining example of the magic that results from trans representation and diversity in sharing trans stories.
It's clear there is real talent behind the writing in Something You Said Last Night; it almost feels like the audience is a future version of Ren, remembering vividly this particular summer vacation and this liminal point in her early adulthood. The film's pacing embodies that of a family vacation, too; for most of the film the family is just hanging out, lazily looking at their phones, enjoying the water and sleeping in, coexisting.
In Something You Said Last Night, De Filippis highlights Ren's humanity beautifully and invites her audience to share an intimate moment with her immensely real and relatable family. It's an impressive debut of the writer-director, whose care and intention with the subject matter and immersive writing shows incredible promise for what's next in her career.