52 Tuesdays review: A deeply involving motion picture focussing on the important subject of acceptance, growing up and dealing with change in today’s wonderfully different world.
52 Tuesdays review
The film Boyhood has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past twelve months or so, and indeed a lot of awards too, including a whole bunch of Oscars back in March. This week’s limited release 52 Tuesdays shares much of the commitment that Richard Linklater’s ground-breaking film did, in that director Sophie Hyde and her team shot the movie every Tuesday over the course of a year; the timeline in which the film’s story also takes place.
The film is a story of identity, of sexual awakening, of love, and of teenage exploration, and revolves around the character of sixteen-year-old Billie (a superb Tilda Cobham-Hervey), who is forced to move out of her mother’s home, and back to her absent father’s abode when it is revealed that her mother is to undergo a gender transition. The two agree that Billie can visit every Tuesday, hence the set-up, and be involved in the treatment that comes with her transitioning from woman to man.
52 Tuesdays review
52 Tuesdays marks the debut feature from exciting new filmmaking talent Sophie Hyde, a director who also came up with the story for the intelligent screenplay with Matthew McCormack, a script which perfectly details mother Jane’s (excellently played by Del Herbert-Jane) journey into becoming James, while also perfectly depicting Billie’s own journey of self-discovery and her own emotions dealing with change in the family. Transition is very much the key word here.
While 52 Tuesdays won’t garner the attention that Linklater’s very different, though similarly themed film did, it certainly deserves it, as Hyde has crafted a funny, deeply involving motion picture full of excellent performances. The two central roles played Cobham-Hervey and Herbert-Jane are beyond outstanding; two break-out talents to watch in the future, and there’s excellent support from the other players too.
A wonderful depiction of being a teenager, growing up into adulthood, and dealing with change in today’s wonderfully different world.
Seek it out at limited screenings from this weekend.
52 Tuesdays opens at limited UK cinemas from Friday 7th August.
