Something You Said Last Night review – thoughtful, arresting tale of an untethered trans woman

There are some places that transport you back to childhood in a reminiscent act of time travel. An annual family vacation spot is certainly one of them. A week-long trip to a lakeside resort suspended in time becomes a chance for reflection in the feature debut of Canadian-Italian filmmaker Luis De Filippis. With tenderness, Something You Said Last Night tracks a young trans woman navigating the dichotomies of togetherness and isolation, familiarity and otherness.

As they arrive at the holiday home, Mona (Ramona Milano) is already bickering with her husband Guido (Joe Parro) for not booking the right location. Sisters Renata “Ren” (Carmen Madonia) and Sienna (Paige Evans) are left to share the pull-out sofa bed where they’re awoken each morning by a whirring blender. De Filippis won TIFF Next Wave’s Change Maker Award for Something You Said Last Night and it’s easy to see why. This portrait of family intimacy holds multitudes thanks to conscientious direction and charmingly grounded performances, all while an arresting tale of an untethered trans woman blossoms.

De Filippis’ film is sandwiched by car trips. In the contained vehicle, anxieties propagate so when the doors are flung open, tension spills out. In this overflow, we meet the bumbling family and the heart of the collective: aspiring writer and twenty-something Ren. While some take the holiday opportunity to lounge (namely, Guido) others, like Sienna, take the chance to let loose. Ren, meanwhile, drifts through their chaos with phone and vape in hand, seeking out independence. Mona, the Italian matriarch and familial cement, with loving intention, steps in when Ren’s trying to forge this autonomy. “I was taking care of it,” Renata yells at her interruption. Though that frustration connotes judgement, De Filippis is clear in showing the everyday actions of a supportive family.

Though united, both sisters are harbouring secrets. With one having lost their job and the other wanting to quit school, they are siblings united in secrecy. The complex bond – furious at each other, then falling into uncontrollable laughter – is made gorgeous thanks to Marjorie Lecker’s wonderful casting. Milano is the star, illuminating Ren’s observational, passive perspective with an internalised protective instinct. Her low gaze hardens when trying to wrangle her drunk sister home, as she marches through rowdy, drunk men with blistering self-assuredness. It’s a scene that raises heart rates based on the expectations of LGBTQ cinema but, refreshingly, De Filippis subverts assumptions and Ren’s audacious confidence is paired with idyllic moments of peace.

Watermelon in the sun, and the rise and fall of a middle-aged man’s chest, are captured with Norm Li’s serene cinematography. Sunny visuals complement a film that actively rejects dramatisation – though it eschews big statements of antagonism, it’s not void of micro-aggression. The prioritisation of atmosphere over narrative tension may elongate the film’s slower scenes, but it roots Something You Said Last Night as a thoughtful character study and a nuanced inclusion in LGBTQIA+ cinema.

Something You Said Last Night was screened as part of tbe BFI Film Festival 2023. A UK release date is yet to be announced.