Princess Cyd

This is how you do a coming-of-age movie. With poignancy sans too-much-sugar, with a story grounded in how real people behave.

A beautiful gem of a story.

Probably my favorite Stephen Cone film, although I like The Wise Kids a lot. I think this one is the lightest/sweetest of the bunch. The aunt/niece dynamic feels so fresh and original, and some of their discussions are so frank and rich. It's just a great character study.

I don't review movies much anymore, but there were things about Princess Cyd that I wanted to make note of, in hopes that others who are '... hmm... not sure..'. might give it a chance if they come across it. It's on Netflix and I'm sure available other places too.

I've watched a lot of indie dramas through my life and rarely have I come across one that felt as satisfying as this by the closing credits. Poignant without being saccharine, intelligent without being "clever", slow but well paced. Mostly though, I was impressed at the choices made by the writer/director, and very probably the editor, to avoid dramatic cliches and over-used tropes. There's a sense of quiet subversion at work here, a sense of veering off in a new direction at the moments we've been trained to think 'Ohhh, I know exactly where this is about to go, and ohhh I wish it wasn't.' Pleasantly surprising. I don't want to give much away, let others be equally surprised.

If you like films that make you feel you haven't seen them before, that show restraint and intelligent plotting, well you could do a hell of a lot worse than Princess Cyd. I kinda loved it. 8/10 is high for me.

"Princess Cyd" is a wonderful film in many ways. I was surprised because my expectations weren't particularly high. As a result, I'm gonna seek out more of writer/director Stephen Cone's films.

The story begins with Aunt Miranda (Rebecca Spence) attending a lecture about her books, as she'apparently a famous writer. But her dinner afterwards is interrupted by a phone call...her brother-in-law needs a break from his daughter, Cyd (Jessie Pinnick), and asks Miranda to take her in Chicago for a couple weeks. She's happy to and soon Cyd arrives. Cyd seems like a pretty normal teen and it's obvious at first that she thinks Aunt Miranda (who she hardly knows) is a dull lady...just like EVERY adult. But over time they hit it off well and Cyd learns that her aunt is a pretty cool lady...not just because of her books but because she's incredibly chill about Cyd's sexuality. Instead of being scared to discuss sex or Cyd's bisexuality, she's supportive...which is great because soon Cyd meets up with Katie (Malic White) and they fall for each other.

I noticed that the other review referred to this as a Lesbian film. Well, perhaps Katie is gay...but what makes it interesting is that Cyd is clearly bisexual...something you rarely hear about in movies. I talked with the director/writer and it turns out he's openly gay and he did seem to have a very female-positive attitude in this film. His female characters were exceptionally well written and I also appreciated how he avoided a mistake some other filmmakers make. There is a rape (or attempted rape) scene in the film and he chose to show very little and mostly imply the attack....and this is great because sometimes these scenes are just too vivid and disturbing. This could either trigger PTSD responses in some viewers OR possibly excite the prurient interest of some sick viewers...so thanks for NOT going there!

Overall, the story does an amazing amount without a lot of money or scope. Just a lot of real people acting in ways we can believe...and I really, really loved this film.

(No spoilers) I started this movie with pretty low expectations, and it started out pretty slow and typical, with a predictable story line. But after about 20 minutes I was strangely fixated on it. I think it was due to great cast, the very strong acting, and the dialogue which was out of the ordinary and gets you just far enough out of your comfort zone to be interesting, but stays enough towards the middle to keep it 100% believable. There are some sexual scenes and explicit language, so don't watch with kids or family members unless they're on that level. Everything is done in a tasteful and artistic manner though, but still sexually explicit. I almost didn't want this movie to end, but it ended at the right time. The scenery and cinematography were pretty basic and standard, nothing special because it didn't need to be, the film doesn't rely on it, but the lighting and camera angles worked perfectly with the story and cast, lots of close-ups, filmed in an intimate manner, felt like I was there in the movie. Once again, fantastic acting by wonderful actors. Most of the newer movies of this genre disappoint me, I watch for 20 minutes then shut it off. So glad I decided to give this one a try. Bravo!