Although he’s only early on in his career, Andrea Pallaoro is already focused on a trilogy of themed films, around femininity.

His second film, 2017’s Hannah, starring Charlotte Rampling no less, is considered the first.

His second instalment is this film, based on the titular character Monica, and her return to the family home.

When Monica (Trace Lysette) gets a call from her sister-in-law, she’s not in the best place emotionally. She’s going through problems with her boyfriend, who isn’t returning her calls. A trip home should do her the world of good then, but circumstances aren’t ideal.

Firstly, the reason they want her home is because her mother Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) is dying. On the one hand, due to her condition, she’s unlikely to remember her. And on the other hand she’s unlikely to remember her for when she last saw her, as Monica was a man.

It makes for an awkward homecoming then, albeit a necessary one, as Monica goes to the family home for the very first time.

Before you even get into Pallaoro’s story, the Italian director establishes his film as a curiosity from the off, with its sharply defined screen ratio which resembles a square; it feels familiar in slightly resembling a Polaroid picture, which may well have been deliberate, helping to evoke family memories.

And then you have his second female lead in his trilogy-to-be, trans actress Lysette, who gives a strong performance as person who is confident in her role as a woman, but less so as a daughter and sister.

Monica is an interesting character, as she starts off pretty selfish. There’s a scene in a hospital that suggests she should be present emotionally, but she is quickly distracted by a phone call.

She also has to virtually reinvent herself as a family member, as her mother clearly has no memory of her when she was her son. Even her brother hasn’t seen her since, which of course can course all kinds of emotions.

It’s a surprisingly quiet film, even down to the fact that it has no soundtrack, other than ambient songs such as on the car radio or in a bar. This continues into dialogue, which never extends into anything meaningful. This might just be down to a family that has never been able to communicate with one another, on top of the fact that Monica now is who she is, which brings a whole other level of what can be said versus what should be said.

Lysette is effervescent as a woman just about coping with the many changes in her life, as is Clarkson who is utterly moving as a woman facing the end of hers.

Pallaoro’s script possibly relies on the importance of what’s not said rather than what is, although his film could have possibly benefitted if it were the other way around. Still, it’s subject matter is both relevant and absorbing, as well as serves as a curiosity as to how his trilogy pans out.