Tomboy (2011 film)


Tomboy is a 2011 French drama film written and directed by Céline Sciamma. The story follows a 10-year-old gender non-conforming child, Laure, who moves to a new neighborhood during the summer holiday and experiments with their gender presentation, adopting the name Mikaël. The film opened to positive reviews, with critics praising the directing and the performers, particularly Zoé Héran as the lead.
Tomboy was released on DVD-Video and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2012, and in the United States on 5 June 2012.

Plot

Laure is a 10-year-old whose family moves to a new address in Paris. Laure sees a group of boys playing outside the window and goes to play with them, but they disappear quickly. Instead, Laure meets Lisa, a neighborhood girl. Lisa assumes that Laure is a boy and asks for Laure's name. After a moment's thought, Laure comes up with the male name "Mickaël". Lisa then introduces Mickaël/Laure to the rest of the neighborhood children, stating that Mickaël is the new kid in the apartment complex. Mickaël becomes friends with Lisa and the boys, playing soccer with them. When invited to go swimming, Mickaël cuts a one-piece swimsuit into male swim trunks, and makes a clay penis to put inside.
Over time, Lisa and Mickaël become closer, and Lisa eventually kisses Mickaël. Mickaël also becomes increasingly accepted by the group of boys. One day while playing, Lisa makes up Mickaël's face and comments: "You look good as a girl." Mickaël goes home hiding her face under a hoodie, but Laure's mother says she likes it, encouraging her to be more like a girl.
When Lisa comes by the apartment to look for Mickaël, she runs into Laure's precocious six-year-old sister Jeanne instead. The conversation makes Jeanne realize that Laure has been presenting as a boy. Jeanne confronts Laure and wants to tell their parents, but when Laure promises to take her along on all of Laure's outings for the rest of the summer, she quickly becomes happy to have a big brother, which she says is "way better" than having a big sister. She also helps cut Mickaël's hair to be more boyish, and promises to keep Mickaël's secret. Although their mom is somewhat supportive of Laure's gender non-conformity, she also seems to want Laure to be more feminine.
After Mickaël has a fight with one of the boys for pushing Jeanne, the boy and his mother come to Mickaël's door to tell Mickaël's mother about her son's bad behavior. Laure's mother is quick to understand and plays along, but after the visitors have left, she scolds Laure for "pretending to be a boy". Jeanne understands Laure's predicament and does her best to support her sibling emotionally. Laure's mother forces Laure to wear a dress and takes Laure to the apartment of the boy that Laure hit, and also to Lisa's apartment. Lisa is stunned to see Mickaël in a dress and runs off without a word.
Deeply embarrassed, Laure goes to the woods. After a time there, Laure takes off the blue dress, leaving on a tank top and boy-style shorts. Walking away from the discarded dress, Mickaël sees the other children in the distance. Mickaël can hear them talking, speculating about whether Mickaël is a girl or not. When they spot Mickaël, the boys chase and capture Mickaël and say they're going to see if Mickaël's really a girl. Lisa stands up to them and tells them to leave Mickaël alone. But when they tell Lisa: "You kissed him. If it's a girl, that's disgusting, isn't it?" Lisa agrees and reluctantly looks in Mickaël's shorts, with Mickaël in tears but letting her. Lisa is shocked. The boys and Lisa leave while Mickaël remains in the woods, devastated.
Later, we see that Laure's mother has given birth to a baby boy. The family spend time together at home, with Laure not wanting to go outside. However, Laure sees Lisa waiting outside the window, and goes out to see her. After a long silence, Lisa quietly asks for Laure's name. "Je m'appelle Laure", Laure responds, and smiles a little.

Cast

The film has been described as being about a girl who pretends to be a boy or, alternatively, about a transgender boy. Film critic Roger Ebert said "If you think you're looking at a boy, you see one. If a girl, then that's what you see."
Céline Sciamma, the writer and director, said "I made it with several layers, so that a transexual person can say 'that was my childhood' and so that a heterosexual woman can also say it." She also said the "movie is ambiguous about Mickaël's feelings for Lisa. It plays with the confusion."

Reception

Tomboy earned positive reviews. Earning 97% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a consensus saying, "In tune with the emotion and tribulations of childhood, Tomboy is a charming movie that treats its main subject with warmth and heart." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave 3.5 out of 4 stars, commenting that Tomboy is "tender and affectionate". In 2017, it was ranked by IndieWire as the third best lesbian movie of all time. Autostraddle called it "excellent."

Awards