Sean Parker
One of my favorite things about the Fantasia International Film Festival is the depth of its programming. There’s always unexpected treasures waiting to be found within the massive amount of films playing, and I think I just found one. Jody Wilson, a visual effects artist from Vancouver who has contributed to projects such as The Avengers and The Last of Us, jumps into the director’s seat to offer up The Bearded Girl, a daring, original coming-of-age story with a twist.
Anwen O’Driscoll (Netflix’s Bet) stars as Cleo, a girl born into a family of circus performers with one fierce genetic trait: the eldest girl in the family grows a beard. The film begins with a young Cleo coming into her own and receiving the circus’ sacraments of initiation, to take over for her mother, Lady Andre (Mad Men’s Jessica Paré) someday. But as the story progresses, Cleo becomes disenchanted with the prospect of being a bearded lady for the rest of her life. When she catches the eye of motorcycle-driving bad-boy Blaze (Keenan Tracey), she decides it’s time to venture out into the world and away from her overbearing mother.
At the same time, Lady Andre is dealing with the greasy and disrespectful Dick Sutherland (Kryptic’s Jeff Gladstone), who attempts to intimidate Lady Andre off of her land in order to build a multi-million-dollar casino. Lady Andre’s consistent denial of offers does not dissuade this Dick, so he plans to harass her until the deal is made. When he sees that Cleo is due to take over the Circus’ deed, it provides a loophole. One that can be exploited if the landowner isn’t available to hear and dismiss the offer. With no one able to find Cleo once she leaves, the pressure is on.
Skylar Radzion plays Cleo’s confidently cool sister, Josephine, who is provided a fantastic background in the film by being jealous of her sister’s role within the circus before finding her calling. Early on, Josephine is being pushed toward clowning and defiantly rejects the designation, a rebellion seen through Cleo’s eyes that sets her off on her journey of self-discovery. The two form a sisterly bond through the action, and the seed is planted for Cleo’s desire to walk her own path. Radzion is pitch-perfect in the supporting role. Additionally, Toby Hargrave gives an excellent performance as the good-natured, if slightly inquisitive, Harold, who meets Cleo at a bus stop, and whom she convinces to provide shelter under the fabricated story that she is his long-lost daughter.
In fact, the writers carve a world of charming Twin Peaks quirk surrounding Cleo’s storyline, but they don’t have much presence outside of what they’re needed for in the script. Jude Wilson, Brendan Riley, Betty Jackson, Kendall Gender / Kenneth Wyse, and Marilyn Norry fill out a supporting cast in The Bearded Girl who are intricate and deep. However, for as much as I would have preferred getting to know and understand these characters more, the focus remains on Cleo and the cardboard character Blaze, and there is a very good reason why.
Stylistically, The Bearded Girl presents itself as a punk rock fairytale lampooning the Hallmark or Great American Family aesthetic. Much in the way that those cable films are heavily built with Christian overtones and one-dimensional rom-com arcs, The Bearded Girl begins by entrenching itself in mythic fantasy, building lore surrounding the circus, then slyly pivoting into a magical modern-era romance film. The trick of it is that Wilson and co-writers Blake Barrie and Thiago Gadelha don’t just throw Cleo into a life of happily ever after, and genuinely care about the happiness of their lead character after the story ends.
Over the last few years, Drag Queens reading at public libraries has become one of the stupidest controversies to ever grace this country, right up there with Trans bathroom use. Books are being banned, and stories are being silenced. There’s a whole group of people that a faction of the country is trying to oppress. So, how do you combat the loudest voices in the country? Make an upside-down fish-out-of-water movie with community building, open-mindedness, and the audacity to consider its characters’ dysphoria that’s based on long-outdated fairytale tropes. All of this must truly be the stuff of evil.
Clearly, The Bearded Girl is a symbolically Queer feature, and one of the most creative, story-rich indie films lampooning Christian faith propaganda, which suggests that a horse-riding girl needs a cowboy and that small-town romances are the answer to everything. The actors occasionally exaggerate their lines to enhance the effect. Cayne McKenzie’s score rises to meet the occasion as well, adding some Angelo Badalamenti etherealism when the situation calls for it. The milk bar scene, in particular, comes to mind. The film comes together to wonderful effect, though, like a Hallmark of Great American Family film, there are some plot holes, or at least some logic that doesn’t fully translate. However, I think it appeals to the fun of The Bearded Girl by giving those cookie-cutter Christian films the middle finger.
The relationship between Blaze and Cleo in The Bearded Girl also evoked a strong reminiscence of a film I remember loving 30 years ago, Peter Bogdanovich’s The Thing Called Love. The film revolves around a group of up-and-coming country songwriters attempting to make it in the Nashville scene. A love triangle forms among three of the members, and a marriage proposal leads to the realization that marriage requires work. The characters in that movie are also trying to figure out what they want as they struggle to make it in the music industry, leading to surprising and realistic outcomes about what is right for each of them.
Discovering that the life she thinks she wants denies Cleo of her identity, and that a life with Blaze means constantly indulging his whimsical gestures and abiding by an outdated checklist of provincial life, introduces a significant problem for Cleo, who is hiding her true face by shaving every day. Cleo finds herself contemplating what true freedom actually looks like by the end of the film, learning to embrace the people who see and accept her for who she is.
The Bearded Girl is a bit rough around the edges, as most indies are, but it’s a fun modern take on the outdated fairytales children cling to. It commits itself through character strength and a topsy-turvy plotline that invites anyone who has ever felt like an outcast to come and enjoy. The Bearded Girl is bursting with heart, and I hope we see more of Jody Wilson’s talents in the director’s seat in the future.
The Bearded Girl Played on July 17 and July 18 at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on Thursday, July 17. Check out the film’s page on the Fantasia website for more information.
The Bearded Girl-Teaser
Un carnaval peut s’avérer un havre de paix pour celles et ceux qui y travaillent, voire un endroit magique. Cleo (Anwen O’Driscoll, OCTOBER FACTION, BURDEN OF TRUTH) est avaleuse de sabre et fière descendante d’une lignée de femmes à barbe depuis 88 générations.
