It’s been a while since we’ve seen Elliot Page in a starring film role.
That’s not to say the Oscar-nominated actor has stepped out of the spotlight—in fact, Page has been busier than ever these past few years, penning his best-selling memoir Pageboy, producing projects under his Pageboy Productions banner, and starring in the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy (which returns for its final season this August).
But the upcoming drama Close To You represents Page’s first on-screen narrative feature since 2017, and his first since coming out as a trans man in December 2020.
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That makes the film a perfect reintroduction to Elliot Page: Movie Star—not just because its a fine spotlight for him as an emotive and soulful actor, but also because it’s one that, in many ways, echoes Page’s own journey.
From British filmmaker Dominic Savage and based off a story co-conceived by the director and Page himself, Close To You follows Sam (Page) as he travels from Toronto to his hometown on Lake Ontario, where he’ll be anxiously reuniting with his family for the first time in years on the occasion of his father’s (Cool Runnings‘ Peter Outerbridge) birthday.
Sam hasn’t spent time with his family since transitioning, and though the progressive suburbanites have been supportive from afar, it becomes immediately clear they’re unsure how to communicate with or relate to him now.
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On one end is Sam’s mother, Miriam (Air Force One‘s Wendy Crewson) who gets overly upset and apologetic after accidentally misgendered her son. But then there’s his brother-in-law Paul (The Boys‘ David Reale), whose initially polite facade is masking some cruelly casual transphobia.
Meanwhile, the visit finds Sam unexpectedly reconnecting with his former high school bestie Katherine (deaf actress Hillary Baack, best known for Sound Of Metal). While family feels challenging, Katherine offers a warm and unquestioning welcome home—one that just might show signs of a blossoming romance.
What’s especially fascinating about Close To You is that much of it was improvised on set, with actors given cues to the goals of any given scene, but with freedom to live in their characters and bounce off one another.
That technique certainly gives Page the space to work through many of his own feelings about reconnecting with friends and family in this new phase of his life—a process which he told The Guardian last year was “a highlight of my life as an actor.”
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall and earning Page a special jury award for his performance at the Calgary International Film Festival, Close To You was picked up for U.S. distribution by Greenwich Entertainment, which will bring it to theaters nationwide beginning August 16.
Check out the first official trailer for Close To You below:
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