Movie Review: 'Monica' is Among the Best of 2023

Monica (2023)

Directed by Andrea Pallaoro

Written by Andrea Pallaoro

Starring Trace Lysette, Emily Browning, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza, Joshua Close

Release Date May 12th, 2023

Published May 12th, 2023

Monica is a quiet, thoughtful, and quite brilliant film about grief and the strange pull parents have on children, no matter the distance. It doesn't matter if the distance is measured in miles or time, the inherent desire to connect with parents is a universal feeling, regardless of your background. In the case of Monica (Trace Lysette), the distance is physical, it's measured in decades of time, and it's embedded in bitter sadness and grief. Monica has been estranged from her mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) for nearly 20 years. The last thing Monica's mother said to her, at a bus station in Ohio, was "I can no longer be your mother."

Now, Eugenia is dying and having been found by her brother, Paul (Josh Close), and his wife, Laura (Emily Browning), that pull I wrote about earlier surfaces for Monica. Despite the rightful bitterness and remarkable hurt, Monica cannot resist the pull of seeing her mother again before she passes away. The question of a reconciliation looms but carries more weight in this case. Eugenia is suffering from brain cancer, her mind is slipping, especially when she refuses her medication. It's been nearly 20 years and she may not recognize Monica.

Of course, time and Eugenia's illness aren't the only reasons why she might not recognize Monica. When the two last saw each other, Monica was at the beginning of transitioning. 20 years later, Monica is indeed a different person. The layers of this story are remarkable as now Monica may have to decide if she will tell her mother that she is her child, the child Eugenia abandoned at a crucial moment in her life. It's heavy stuff but in the brilliantly subtle hands of writer-director Andrea Pallaoro and star Trace Lysette, the fraught emotions are played only on Monica's face as she takes in the huge emotions at play inside her and around her.

One of the most powerful and perfect choices in Monica is also one that is never commented upon directly. The film never dead-names Monica. I went into the movie assuming that a big emotional scene would involve someone from the past dredging up Monica's past to harm her. But that is not this movie. This movie uses that possibility in several ways but chooses not to go in that direction. Instead, we get our biggest and most affecting moments in silence. Monica, as a character, is deeply lonely, isolated for many reasons. The movie observes that isolation and places the character in situations that reflect the emotional state of feeling isolated and the deep and abiding desire to connect in some way.

I adore this movie. It has perhaps the best scene in any movie in 2023. It's yet another quiet scene, filled with racing emotions that are never spoken of. It's even open to interpretation exactly what happened in this scene but that doesn't dampen the emotions at play. Naturally, it's a scene between Trace Lysette and the ungodly brilliant Patricia Clarkson. Patricia Clarkson is a national treasure, one of our finest character actors and this scene should win her and Trace Lysette Academy Award nominations. Great actors make you forget you are watching acting, and these are two phenomenal actors.

Graceful direction, brilliant performances, and big emotions played out in small, subtle ways, that's Monica. It's rare to see a movie with this kind patience and dedication to letting emotion rise rather than take hold of the moment. So many actors mistake the most acting- the biggest gestures, the loudest emotions- for acting. The best actors simply convince you that they aren't acting at all. That can be said of everyone in Monica, a small ensemble of actors directed brilliantly to craft something heartbreakingly beautiful without the need for grand theatricality.

Monica is among the best films of 2023.

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