In Transit, 2025.
Directed by Jaclyn Bethany.
Starring Alex Sarrigeorgiou, Francois Arnaud, and Jennifer Ehle.
SYNOPSIS:
A young bartender is left reassessing her life and relationships when she agrees to model for an artist.
A pivotal moment in In Transit perfectly distils its thematic core: a thoughtful shot in the mirror shows Lucy (Alex Sarrigeorgiou) and Ilse (Jennifer Ehle) gazing together at the portrait Ilse has just finished of Lucy. The camera then shifts to a separate shot of Lucy studying her own reflection. In this beautifully haunting film, reflection and the inherent vulnerability of image are everything. Through this deliberate sequence of shots, we witness a woman confronting her identity; Lucy is seeing sides of herself that she did not know existed before she met Ilse, or if she did recognise them, she had spent a lifetime keeping them carefully hidden.
At its heart, the film captures the deep melancholy of knowing when something is not quite right in your life, even when everything on the surface appears to be running smoothly. Before this awakening, Lucy was simply drifting through her days. Her easy job tending a peaceful bar and her loving, gentle partner Tom, played with grounded sincerity by François Arnaud, offered an existence that, while not exactly passionate, was entirely dependable and safe.
All of that security falls away with some speed due to two disruptive developments. First, Ilse enters her life, expertly played by Ehle as a worldly-wise artist seeking new inspiration. Second, Lucy’s boss abruptly sells the establishment without warning her, stripping away one of the sources of her untroubled life. Together, these events force the central, existential question: how do we truly figure out who we really are?
The narrative becomes an exploration of revelation and the realisation that what Lucy actually wanted out of life may not be what she had assumed. The screenplay, penned by Sarrigeorgiou herself, poetically explores the friction between open communication and deliberate hiding, mining burdens of repressed sexuality and the weight of unexpressed desire.
Ultimately, In Transit is about the painful necessity of being honest with others and, most importantly, with yourself. For Lucy, this translates into a stark learning curve as she realises she can no longer merely coast; she has to be entirely clear with herself about her own path. Directed by Jaclyn Bethany, the film moves at a patient, deliberate pace, yet it holds raw emotion and feeling. Lucy is not written as a completely sympathetic figure, she makes mistakes and hurts those around her, but she is deeply human, and one whom the audience will effortlessly recognise.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
