Review: ‘Tomboy’ – Boy meets girl, or does he?

Everyone has had fantasies of being the opposite sex, even if just for a fleeting moment.  But what happens when you are unintentionally cast as the opposite gender?  Tomboy explores this question with sensitivity and gentle humor.

When ten-year-old Laure moves into a new apartment complex, the first kid she meets, lonely Lisa, mistakes her for a boy. With her short hair and simple jeans-and-t-shirt ensemble, it’s easy to see how the mistake was made, but Laure says nothing to correct the mistake, and when asks her name, answers ‘Mikael’.

Lisa introduces ‘Mikael’ to the other kids in the complex and he is instantly accepted as one of the group and dragged into soccer games and other activities in the apartment grounds and woods surrounding it. Laure copes with all the small inconveniences her ruse raises, whether it is how to pee without arousing suspicion, or how to fill out a Speedo convincingly while swimming.

But the school year is looming, and Laure makes the mistake of letting her little sister in on the secret. It is not long before the lie begins to unravel and Laure’s deceit becomes the talking point within the complex’s pre-teen community.

Zoe Heran is unbelievably good in this challenging role. There is no precociousness here. She is so utterly believable that in a scene where her mother forces her to wear a dress, she looks just plain wrong. Six-year-old Malonn Leavana also deserves a cheer as the ever-cheerful little sister. Her role is responsible for most of the laughs in this film.

This is a deceptively simple film, full of the wonder of childhood. Adult characters are barely developed because they are so seldom seen. Yet under the surface issues of gender and sexuality are carefully addressed. In one scene, the predatory Lisa puts makeup on Mikael, telling him he looks pretty as a girl. Does she suspect Mikael is not who he says he is?

The ending could have been better filled out, but for me, a girl who pretended to be a boy called Marcus for over a year, I found this film poignant, moving and completely truthful.

7.5/10

Have you seen Tomboy? Let us know what you thought.