Synopsis
Alex, an intersexed 15-year-old, is living as a girl, but she and her family begin to wonder whether she's emotionally a boy when another teenager's sexual advances bring the issue to a head. As Alex faces a final decision regarding her gender, she meets both hostility and compassion.
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Cast
- Inés EfrónAlex
- Martín PiroyanskyÁlvaro
- Ricardo DarínKraken
- Valeria BertuccelliSuli
- Germán PalaciosRamiro
- Guillermo AngelelliJuan
- César TroncosoWashington
- Jean Pierre ReguerrazEsteban
- Luciano NóbileVando
- Lucas EscarizSaul
Recommendations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
As finely crafted as a great work of literature. - 83
Portland Oregonian
The word "hermaphrodite" is never actually uttered, for instance, and the whole topic is revealed obliquely, mostly through the puzzled eyes of Alvaro. Most impressively, a tale that could have been handled with condescending simplicity becomes a testament to the flawed but noble humanity of both parents and children. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Efron's remarkable performance as a wild child who seems to truly exist somewhere betwixt and between is riveting. - 75
New York Post
Ines Efron and Martin Piroyanski give strong performances as Alex and Alvaro, respectively. Debuting director Lucia Puenzo, who co-scripted, tackles a dicey subject with sensitivity and taste. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
The story of a young hermaphrodite who's not sure if she's emotionally a boy or a girl manages to be both raw-edged and moving. - 70
Variety
Picture has more in common with standard child-parent conflict dramas than it would probably care to admit, but its sensitive treatment of an equally sensitive theme elevates it into something memorable. - 70
The New York Times
If XXY is imagistically too programmatic (a scene of carrots being sliced is typical of its Freudian heavy-handedness) and devoid of humor, it never seems pruriently exploitative. It sustains an unsettling mood of ambiguity that lingers long after the final credits. - 63
Boston Globe
The grown-ups in Lucia Puenzo's XXY are a glum lot.
