Close to You is a 2023 drama film directed by Dominic Savage and starring Elliot Page, Hillary Baack, Peter Outerbridge, and Wendy Crewson. Savage and Page wrote the story together and both acted as producers.
| Close to You | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dominic Savage |
| Written by | Dominic Savage |
| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Catherine Lutes |
| Edited by | David Charap |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $72,994[2][3] |
The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released on August 16, 2024 in Canada. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2024.
Premise
editSam, a trans man, is heading back home for his father's birthday and bumps into an old friend, opening old wounds as he finds his family struggling to come to terms with his transition.[4]
Cast
edit- Elliot Page as Sam
- Hillary Baack as Katherine
- Peter Outerbridge as Jim, Sam's dad
- Wendy Crewson as Miriam, Sam's mum
- Janet Porter as Kate
- Alex Paxton-Beesley as Megan
- Daniel Maslany as Michael
- Sook-Yin Lee as Emily
- Andrew Bushell as Stephen
- Jim Watson as Daniel
- David Reale as Paul
- Amanda Richer as Margot
Production
editAlongside Savage and Page, producers also include Krishnendu Majumdar and Richard Yee for their Me + You Productions banner and Daniel Bekerman and Chris Yurkovich, via Good Question Media. Financing comes from Kindred Spirit with Anita Gou and Sam Intili executive producing with Rolling Dice's Nia Vazirani, and Matt Jordan Smith of PageBoy Productions.[5][6] The project included high levels of improvisation and Page told The Guardian the experience was "a highlight of my life as an actor."[7]
Filming
editShot by cinematographer Catherine Lutes, principal photography took place in Canada and wrapped by June 2023.[8]
Release
editThe film had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023,[9] and received a gala screening at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival.[10] In January 2024, Greenwich Entertainment acquired US distribution rights to the film.[11]
It was released in the United States and Canada (Mongrel Media) on August 16, 2024,[12][13] and was released in the United Kingdom (Vertigo Releasing) two weeks later on August 30.[14][15] The movie will have its streaming debut on Netflix on November 15, 2024.[16]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 55 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A passion project for Elliot Page that benefits from his naturalism, Close to You's improvisational scripting yields dramatically uneven but ultimately moving results."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18] Page's performance was widely praised, even by the film's detractors.[19]
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "It's raw and often powerful—less of a carefully shaped drama than the equivalent of a series of boxes filled with explosive material being slung about. It's less concerned with winning points for neatness than in letting scenes unfold in an unflinchingly immediate way."[20]
Awards
edit| Award / Film Festival | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival | September 28, 2023 | Inspiring Voices and Perspectives | Dominic Savage | Won | [21] |
| Calgary International Film Festival | September 25, 2023 | Special Jury Citation for Performance, International Narrative Feature Competition |
Elliot Page | Won | [22] |
| British Independent Film Awards | December 8, 2024 | Best Lead Performance | Elliot Page | Pending | [23] |
References
edit- ^ "Close To You (15)". British Board of Film Classification. August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ "Close to You (2023)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "Close to You (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (June 12, 2023). "Elliot Page Set For Dominic Savage Film 'Close To You'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (June 12, 2023). "Elliot Page to Star in Indie Drama 'Close to You'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (June 12, 2023). "Elliot Page announced as star of 'Close To You' for Kindred Spirit, Rolling Dice". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Hatterstone, Simon (June 10, 2023). "Elliot Page on Juno, Hollywood's dark side and coming out twice: 'Living my life was more important than being in movies'". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (June 12, 2023). "Elliot Page Starring in Drama 'Close to You' from 'The Farewell' Producer". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 24, 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders 'Dumb Money', 'The Holdovers', 'Rustin'; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Heidi Ulrichsen, "Cinéfest 2023 features strong Canadian content" Archived August 23, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Sudbury.com, August 23, 2023.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (January 16, 2024). "Elliot Page Drama Close To You Acquired By Greenwich Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
- ^ Topel, Fred (April 4, 2024). "Elliot Page drama Close to You opens in August". United Press International. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "Close to You". Tribute.ca. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Townsend, Kelly (February 15, 2024). "Close to You heads to European Film Market". Playback. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "All Future Releases". Film Distributors' Association. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ Moore, Kasey (October 19, 2024). "Elliot Page Movie 'Close To You' Sets Netflix Streaming Debut Date". What's on Netflix. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "Close to You". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Close to You". Metacritic. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ Multiple references, including:
- Lodge, Guy (March 22, 2024). "'Close to You' Review: Elliot Page Makes an Affecting Big-Screen Return in a Fragile Homecoming Drama". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- Travers, Peter. "Review: Elliot Page delivers a deeply moving performance in 'Close to You'". ABC News. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- "Close To You". Empire. September 4, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- Romney, Jonathan. "'Close To You': Toronto Review". Screen. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- Hutchinson, Chase (September 12, 2023). "'Close to You' Review: Elliot Page Is Stuck in a Nightmare Family Reunion | TIFF 2023". Collider. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- Bove, Kate (August 16, 2024). "Close To You Review: Elliot Page's Poignant Performance Is Overshadowed By Story Threads That Don't Mesh". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (August 16, 2024). "Close to You". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ "Cinéfest reveals 2023 award winners" Archived October 2, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Sudbury.com, September 28, 2023.
- ^ Aryn Toombs, "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled" Archived November 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. LiveWire Calgary, September 25, 2023.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (November 5, 2024). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Kneecap' Leads Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
External links
edit- Close to You at IMDb