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| Image from www.ryancassata.com |
The acceptance of LGBT rights in America
has moved at an insane speed in the last 5 years, with opinion polls
unanimously showing a growing acceptance of gay lifestyles (it’s nowhere near
perfect but it’s getting there.) But it is
arguably the 'T' in LGBT that is still so misunderstood. People usually say that as soon as you know
someone affected by an issue, then it can change your opinion – well if you
don’t know any transgender teenagers then a powerful documentary might give you
the inspiration to broaden your mind…
Ryan Cassata is an 18-year-old trans male from
Long Island, New York, who has just had a double mastectomy as part of his
transition. He lives with his (amazing)
mum and two brothers, and like to write husky folk songs and perform them
whenever he can to tell his story.
Ryan’s life changed drastically again
when he went to summer camp and met Alexis, his first love and muse. Alexis had no idea that Ryan was trans and
simply fell in love with him anyway, much to the disgust of her conservative
father. The story begins with Ryan
learning that he will be playing a gig at the San Francisco Pride March, and
then travelling across the country and trying to confront the pressures of
being in a trans relationship at such a young age
The film plays out like a road movie,
containing the standard geographic / symbolic journey between a pair of
characters who learn all about themselves as they travel West across America –
a trip that is fraught with danger, as seen when when they plan their journey
taking into account the dangerous (i.e. Republican and Evangelical) states
where Ryan might be at risk.
At times the characters are so
comfortable on camera that you momentarily forget that it is non-fiction. So comfortable in fact that it almost feels
intrusive watching these two teenagers discussing jealousy, sex and young
love. I imagine that there was hours of
intimate footage that the filmmakers didn’t include, but some of the moments
are onscreen are heartbreakingly warm – especially between Ryan and his mother.
There are also some touching and very
funny moments where Ryan is experimenting with ways to feel more male – whether
it’s a small stuck-on beard, a request for surgery to get belly button hair or
a rubber penis to sit inside his shorts…
Finally, the film might have fallen flat
if his singing/songwriting was just the ramblings of an angst-ridden teenager,
but Ryan has a really great voice and writes interesting songs. Obviously he is only 18 so that is reflected
in his lyrics, but the music is really strong enough to keep the film going and
for you to care about his ambitions – incidentally, I’m already listening to
his album on
Spotify).
Whether you are interested in the sexual
politics, or just the adorable young love, then there is a lot to love about Songs for Alexis – I just hope that I
never have to found out whether they stuck together or not… I can only dream.
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