What a fantasy film! Could it ascend to the heights of Cinderella, Pinocchio or “Nightmare Alley”?
Eighty-eight generations of a family have produced a bearded girl. Commences as light peach fuzz and by maturity is wild mountain man thickness. Creates audience attraction in a carnival sideshow particularly when the bearded girl is s sword swallower.
Cleo (Anwen O’Driscoll) approaches the big day when as the Bearded Girl she will assume the title of Bearded Woman and the leadership of a sideshow community in Beautiful British Columbia.
A conflict has developed between Cleo and her mother Lady Andre (Jessica Paré). Cleo has novel ideas for the repetitive sideshow her mother has taken the lead on for years. Restless youth rejecting tradition. Inflexible mother and her progeny attempting to assert herself.
A blow up ensues when Bearded Girl Cleo tells her mother Bearded Woman Lady Andre her husband left her due to her nasty behaviour as opposed to that of her husband’s. Cleo flees the sideshow for the city with her hot tempered and domineering mother saying never return.
Cleo does not make it into the “city” taking residence in a nearby small farming town forming a romantic relationship with milk farm heir Leonard. Unfortunately her beard makes itself known to Cleo yet again requiring a daily morning shave but it returns each morning with increasing thickness. Tired of masking her appearance she appears fully bearded before Leonard freaking him out (pardon the expression).
Meanwhile back at the sideshow grounds greedy real estate developer Richard Dick Sutherland (Jeff Gladstone) requires the sideshow lands owned by Lady Andre for a parking lot for his planned 300 room resort-casino-racetrack. Lady Andre isn’t giving an inch and is subject to harassment by Dick and his cronies including an in his pocket sheriff.
Take this movie as an odd British Columbia fairy tale and enjoy the strange plot but fairy tales are allegorical and have a social meaning. This bizarre story delivers clear and simple messages and a question or two.
Be who you really are despite pressure to change from external forces and possibly yourself.
Generational conflict is inevitable but it can be resolved.
Innovation and change are often necessary and if not accepted by the older generation the status quo becomes non-functional leading to bitterness and frustration.
How much is love based on physical as opposed to intellectual attributes?
Corporate greed is not always victorious.
And having some extreme fun here the film is an allegory about Quebec’s struggle to assert itself within Canada!
Clever co- writing and direction by Jody Wilson. Blake Berrie and Thiago Gaddha are co-writers.
Screened 17/18July2025 at Fantasia film festival in Montreal.
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film Rating 76/100.
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