What It Feels Like For A Girl

Spoiler alert. You won’t be able to watch this 8 part BBC production as its on their UK website.

Nevertheless Its worthy high spirited coming of age  dramady, based on the hit autobiography by Paris Lees. Set in the English midlands town of Nottingham.The cast, none of which you will have heard of led by Ellis Howard as Byron in a wonderful performance of  a fifteen year old schoolboy with abusive parents headed out into the working class world of the early 2000’s Once on his own he gets involved with a like minded group of clubbing outcasts most go whom have also escaped from their own societal abusers. Gravitating towards this rowdy band of drug fueled cross dressing compadres he finds a group of people he can increasingly identify with as his own nascent repressed sexual identity comes into sharper focus. Their exuberant club scene initially draws him in. Other aspects as he soon discovers are fraught with new dangers and different abuses. Involved in a robbery orchestrated by an outsider contact he takes the rap serving two year sentence, exposing him to a concentrated dose of prejudice far greater that he’d experienced on the outside. Surviving the ordeal he emerges with a stronger sense of identity and confidence. His trans pals welcoming him back, albeit with a couple of hiccups, into their fold. This is a tale of transition and growing up a fringe element of society and owning your choices in spite of prejudice and derision from the majority. All the supporting cast give excellent performances. The Brits have a long history of producing gritty cinematic work. This is the latest unflinching example. 375 stars.