Elliot Page returns to the big screen with ‘Close to You'
Elliot Page has released an emotional trailer for his upcoming film “Close to You” — his first since coming out as a transgender man in 2020.
In the film, produced by Page and written and directed by Dominic Savage, Page plays Sam, a trans man who is reunited with his family for the first time since his transition
“I’m going home for my dad’s birthday,” Sam says in the trailer for the film, which will premiere in theaters Aug 16. “I haven’t gone back in close to four years.”
In a series of poignant shots, Sam’s family members talk to him about his childhood and how they’ve processed his transition.
“You were so sad, and the last thing a parent wants is for their kid to be sad,” Sam’s father tells him in the trailer.
However, some people in Sam’s life are still struggling to adjust.
One person tells him, “I don’t know all the rules,” and Sam responds: “What are you talking about, rules? I’m just a person. Just talk to me.”
Page shared the trailer on Instagram, where a number of fellow actors and celebrities responded to share their excitement.
“I cannot wait to see this,” said “The Last of Us” star Bella Ramsey.
“So excited for this,” actor and model Kat Cunning said.
Chris Mosier, a duathlete and the first out trans athlete to join a U.S. national team, said, “Can’t wait for this.”
Page’s performance in the film, according to one Variety review, “isn’t moving merely for whatever parallels it might hold to his life: Rather, it’s a reminder of what a deft and perceptive actor he can be, capable of both naked emotional candor and acidic wit — both assets to a script that sometimes errs on the side of caution.”
The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival last fall, shortly after the release of Page’s memoir, “Pageboy.”
Page came out as transgender and nonbinary in a powerful post on social media in December 2020.
“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self,” he wrote at the time, adding that his “joy is real, but it is also fragile,” in part due to the discrimination and violence that transgender people face. He noted that at least 40 trans and gender-nonconforming people were murdered in 2020 and called out political leaders working to criminalize trans health care.
“I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive,” Page continued. “To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.”
Page’s last film before he came out as trans was “Flatliners,” a sci-fi horror film about medical students who try to trigger near-death experiences to learn more about what happens after death.
Page has starred in the Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy” throughout his transition. In 2022, Page announced that his character would come out as trans in the third season. The fourth and final season of the series debuts in August.
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