De Dirigent (The Conductor)

Trailer.

Available Summary:

"Antonia Brico dreams of becoming a conductor, but she isn't taken seriously because she is a woman." -IMDb.

Jack's Summary:

The Conductor begins in 1926, which is important context to keep in mind when discussing this film's depiction of a trans man, and the language he uses when discussing his identity.

Robin Jones is introduced as a man, and is non-disclosing with few exceptions. He works as a bass player in a performing troupe that also includes Miss Denise, a "female impersonator". He offers Antonia work in the troupe, as a pianist, after encountering her job-seeking on the street, and later opens his home to her when she needs somewhere to stay. Robin supports her several times as the movie progresses, including when she is blackmailed by a piano teacher who attempted to sexually assault her, and overall allies himself with her cause; proving that women can be conductors and musicians, just like men.

Miss Denise tells Antonia that Robin wears a corset beneath his clothes due to a back injury; in truth, Robin wears a corset (or perhaps a girdle) in order to flatten his chest and pass as a man. While hugging Robin, Antonia touches his chest and asks, "Does it hurt?" Robin replies, "Every day."

When Antonia starts an all-women symphony, Robin attends wearing a dress and a wig, and is unbound beneath his clothes. Antonia assumes that Robin is dressing up like Miss Denise does, and asks whether this is Robin's way of supporting her. Robin, gesturing to his chest, says, "I'm not dressed as a woman... and these are real," in an unsteady voice. "You never were in an accident," Antonia realises aloud, and Robin replies, "Unless you count being born a girl." Antonia asks Robin whether he wanted to be a man, and Robin replies, "I wanted to be a musician," later adding, "I think I'd rather stay who I was," expressing a preference to continue in his male role. For the rest of the film, he continues to present masculinely and be known as Robin.

Robin clearly does not have the language to explain his trans experience, but knows that he adores music and prefers to live as a man, even as Antonia (and other female musicians) prove that women can be musicians and conductors as well, and he actively supports them in this mission. If "Robin" were just the crossdressing persona of a woman determined to succeed, she could cast off that persona and resume being Roberta, but he does not... because he is not pretending to be Robin, he is Robin.

I found this to be an interesting and compelling depiction of trans maleness in a character who had neither the language nor the community to explain being a trans man, and I'm very glad this character was played by a trans actor.

In this interview, Scott Turner Schofield explained how dysphoria-inducing it was to wear a prosthetic chest for hours during filming, describing it as "painful" but "worth it." According to the article, he had difficulty getting through the scene in one take. I can't imagine going through that myself, so he's certainly got my respect.

Beyond Robin, this film seemed quite boring to me, but that likely just reflects my lack of interest in historical romance/drama as a genre. In general, this film includes period-typical misogyny, anti-LGBT+ attitudes, and sexual harassment from Antonia's piano teacher. I did skip around a bit, due to the afore-mentioned boredom, so I may have missed scenes/themes which might be either interesting or confronting for viewers.

A love interest aggressively grabbing Antonia's arm after she has specifically said, "stop," and forcing a kiss on her, is framed as a romantic gesture, and is followed by a montage of romantic moments involving the pair. This uncritical normalisation of assault is ploddingly similar to a long history of scenes where unconsenting, unwilling people happily submit to intimacy once they're forced into it, furthering the idea that those who resist intimacy just need to be pushed harder. Given that this is a film which centrally explores feminism and female empowerment, I found this moment particularly disappointing.

Narratively, the fact that the fiercely progressive Antonia adores this pushy misogynist over the fiercely progressive Robin... well, it makes no sense. The overarching romantic plot feels forced. That being said, I understand that Antonia was based on a real conductor, Antonia Louisa Brico, so perhaps the filmmakers didn't wish to stretch the truth somehow by having her end up in a relationship with a trans man (although I have no idea how factual the rest of the movie is).

Even aside from how nice it would've been to see Robin as the main love interest, from a representation standpoint, I think the film would've made more sense if it had been taken in that direction.