'A Fantastic Woman' is fantastic

Daniela Vega stars as a woman grieving her boyfriend - and excluded from his funeral -- in "A Fantastic Woman." MUST CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics Daniela Vega stars as a woman grieving her boyfriend - and excluded from his funeral -- in "A Fantastic Woman." MUST CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics Photo: Sony Pictures Classics Photo: Sony Pictures Classics Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close 'A Fantastic Woman' is fantastic 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The title of the impressive Chilean film "A Fantastic Woman," an Oscar nominee in the foreign-language category, refers to the main character, Marina Vidal, a young trans woman who refuses to stay silent in the face of relentless attacks from her lover's disgusted ex-wife and family.

But it also could be applied to Daniela Vega, the young trans actress who inhabits Marina's story with a stunning sense of self-assuredness and strength that belies her rather scant résumé.

Marina's story begins happily enough. She's a waitress and a singer involved in a relationship with the much older, well-off Orlando (Francisco Reyes, "Neruda"), a man who has seemingly had much success in life and is now ready to find something resembling true happiness. Orlando and Marina have even moved in together. Whatever problems and resistance Marina may have met in the past appear not to be issues now.

That bliss is shattered when Orlando suddenly collapses one night and takes a tumble down a flight of stairs. After Orlando dies at the hospital, Marina finds the protective bubble they had built for themselves punctured.

Between the baffled bureaucracy of the hospital as well as the police and the hostility of the family - no one wants to believe that Orlando and Marina's relationship was anything more than a combustible mix of lust, greed and maybe even physical violence (how did Orlando get those bruises all over his body?) - Marina finds she now has to not only justify what she had with Orlando but also her very existence.

Orlando's ex-wife, Sonia (Aline Kuppenheim), wants Orlando's car back and for Marina to get out of the apartment. Orlando's angry adult son, Bruno (Nicolas Saavedra), wants the dog. The police are wondering if there was foul play. And nobody wants her to attend the funeral services for the man she loved.

As directed by Sebastian Lelio, whose much-lauded 2013 film, "Gloria," also focused on a woman who just wants live her life her way, "A Fantastic Woman" comes across less like a screed about trans rights and more like an involving story of someone struggling to stand upright as their world is falling down around them.

More Information 'A Fantastic Woman' Rated R: for strong language, sexual content, nudity, a disturbing assault Running time: 104 minutes In Spanish with English subtitles 66661/2 out of five

Much of that success rests with Vega who, like Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor showed in Sean Baker's 2015 film "Tangerine," brings a been-there-done-that authenticity to the portrayal of trans life. She proves that there needs to be more opportunities for trans actors on screen.

"A Fantastic Woman" is the role of a lifetime for Vega, but let's hope it's just the start of a career, not the end.