Bollaers potently seethes, and later, with the actorly precision (and beauty) of Jodie Comer, ensures Lola's ability to engage with and perhaps forgive her toxic deadbeat dad comes off as an act of self-empowerment, not self-effacement. Why should it be deprived of the light sentimentally its mainstream counterparts have profited off for years?īesides, the twee moments offset an emotionally brutal story, sparked by Lola's absolutely justified and coolly unapologetic reaction to her father excluding her from her mother's funeral.
This criticism is unbalanced: films of this ilk almost always focus on cis-het protagonists - something even 2018's Love, Simon has done little to change - while the quietly pioneering Lola puts a steely trans character centre stage, and has captivating Belgian actress Mya Bollaers, who is trans, play her.
Some reviewers have complained of cliched imagery and plotting in Belgian-French teen drama Lola and the Sea such as our heroine hanging her head out a car, hair blowing in the wind, as she reaches an emotional breakthrough.
