Sitting down to watch a lesbian coming-of-age film can be like entering a game of Russian roulette, if you’re the kind of woman who doesn’t like seeing iterations of herself murdered, raped, converted, or preyed upon. Sitting down to watch a movie about a woman over 40 can be similarly daunting, in that very few of these movies even exist. Director Stephen Cone seeks to right these wrongs with his eighth feature, “Princess Cyd.” All told, he does a pretty good job — and makes a charming little film in the process.
“Princess Cyd” opens with a 911 call. Two people have died, leaving behind a little girl. Cut to present-day, where we meet Miranda (Rebecca Spence), a neurotic, forty-something author. She agrees to take in her sixteen-year-old niece, Cyd (Jessie Pinnick), who’s been having trouble getting along with her father. It doesn’t take a PhD to figure out that Cyd is the little girl from the call, and that her mother is dead.
Cyd and Miranda are immediately at jock-vs.-nerd odds. “I don’t really read,” Cyd tells Miranda, then asks for her WiFi password: HAWTHORNE1850. (We get it, Miranda is bookish.) This dynamic makes for some delightfully cringey dialogue, but the two form a fast bond nonetheless. All frankness, Cyd bludgeons her way into Miranda’s nervous heart. As they lay out on Miranda’s lawn, Cyd confesses she’s attracted to a local barista, Katie (Malic White). Miranda discloses that she hasn’t had sex in five years. Whether goalie or geek, you won’t be immune to either woman’s charms — Cyd is precocious and loving, while Miranda is self-conscious and nurturing. They’re complementary. They are exceedingly well-written women played by delightfully disarming actors.
The film dawdles on for 90-ish minutes in a slice-of-life fashion, but it’s a pleasant ride. Perpetually dedicated to capturing gay adolescence, “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party” director Cone pens and portrays a delightful romance between Cyd and Katie. It’s not perfect — Cyd has never been with another girl and falters, there’s a forced moment on a rooftop — but it’s sweet all the same. It’s especially refreshing to see Katie, a gender nonconforming woman, be desired and desirable. A bit of that rubs off on Cyd, who borrows Katie’s old prom tux in one of the most delightful slow-mo swagger shots I’ve ever seen.
Despite the film’s cashmere-soft aesthetic and Cone’s odd assertion that it offers “a deliberate break from exploring oppression,” it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Midway through the film, Katie just barely evades attempted rape. Her assault blessedly takes place off-screen — if you saw “First Girl I Loved,” you know what it’s like to get gut-punched by a rape scene in the middle of an otherwise placid teen lesbian film. Katie’s storyline is upsetting, but not gratuitously so. Cyd and Miranda rescue her, leading the girls to get closer (wink), and Cyd to divulge her dark past.
If there’s one thing driving this film, it’s heart. Cone clearly admires his characters and women in general, unlike hordes of male indie helmers before him. “There was something about those women that gave me strength…” a fan tells Miranda at the end of the film, “…it reminded me of the women in my life who I love a lot.” The women of “Princess Cyd” likewise offer their strength and love in spades. Leads Rebecca Spence (Miranda) and Jessie Pinnick (Cyd) embody their characters with unparalleled intelligence and vulnerability. It’s particularly hard not to fall for Pinnick as the earnest, befreckled Cyd. Malic White dazzles as the sincere and magnetic Katie, underlining just how refreshing it is to see an actual gay person play a gay role.
The film is not without fault. It is occasionally pretentious and self-referential, as if the characters know they’re speaking lines from a particularly witty script. It is not wholly immune to the objectification inherent in most female coming-of-age (unnecessary masturbation scene, party of one). Still, “Princess Cyd” is eons ahead of some of its peers, and undoubtedly well-made.
“Princess Cyd” refuses to tie up its loose ends, it’s conclusion driven moreso by feeling than by plot. A sort of happy calm descends as the credits roll. Where “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party” cuts you like a razor blade to the face, “Princess Cyd” wraps you up in a warm, motherly hug. Featuring a sweetly smart script, unbridled performances, and DP Zoe White’s sumptuous visuals, “Princess Cyd” will leave you feeling loved and lovely. The cinematic equivalent of a bath bomb, this fizzy feature is sure to delight — at least until the charm fades. So unfurl your towel, dust off your bathing suit, and soak up that warmth. [B+]