Film-makers Jessica Dimmock and Christopher LaMarca no doubt mean well in vérité-style profile, but their abstract approach does their subjects no favors

The Pearl is a film that arrived right on time. Thanks to Caitlyn Jenner, television shows such as Orange is the New Black and Transparent, and films including last year’s indie crowd-pleaser Tangerine and Oscar winner The Danish Girl, the transgender movement is in the spotlight in a way that it’s never been before.

Sonita review: Afghan female rapper goes on unpredictable journey in triumphant documentary Read more

A documentary following four middle-aged transgender women in Pacific north-west logging towns, The Pearl paints an illuminating portrait of lives seldom given a presence onscreen. But though the subjects and their stories are inherently fascinating, the film-makers, Jessica Dimmock and Christopher LaMarca, rather bafflingly can’t seem to make out a worthy film out of the material.

There’s Nina, a pizza delivery person who identifies as trans, but who struggles with how to convey her true self to her wife of nearly 40 years. Amy, the eldest of the lot, loses her wife of many years and opens her home to fellow trans people seeking support. Finally, there are Krystal and Jodie, two former brothers who now identify as sisters. The film starts with the group convening for a trans convention, and tracks their separate journeys from there.

Dimmock and LaMarca take a vérité approach to their documentary, choosing to have the women’s everyday actions speak for themselves, rather than through confessional on-camera interviews. With the occasional voiceover, the four discuss what led them to transition, but they’re rarely afforded the chance to open up about the battles they no doubt face in embodying their true selves.

Why TV could teach cinema a lesson about how to treat trans characters Read more

Amy especially receives the short end of the stick. The film-makers have her tease her past living as a married man, but gloss over whether her wife, now deceased, was supportive through her predicament. Nina vaguely alludes to her partner’s awareness of her struggle, but we never see them together. When Nina’s mother arrives toward the end of the film to meet her Nina for the first time, their discussion is admittedly involving – it’s the rare instance where The Pearl plays it simple, and lets a truthful moment resonate.

But most of the documentary is needlessly confusing because of the abstract way the film-makers tell their subjects’ stories. With no buildup, Amy appears in a hospital bed in Bangkok, following sex reassignment surgery. The scene should be cause for celebration. Instead, it registers as a shock because of its abrupt presentation.

During a discussion after The Pearl’s premiere at the True/False film festival, the four trans women proved to the audience how engaging and moving they could be. They shared more in 20 minutes of talking than the documentary captures in more than an hour. They deserve to have their voices heard, and not simply muffled by The Pearl.

