Masquerading initially as a familiar, lighthearted, high-school immigrant's tale -- the many woes of being An Other in White America -- things change, to a boldly surprising degree.
Slanted
The film opens Friday, March 13, only in movie theaters, via Bleecker Street. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
A young child arrives as a new immigrant to America from China, joining her hardworking parents, who have established a blue-collar beachhead for their family. The child quickly learns that America is the land of the free and the quick to judge.
By her teenage years, Joan Wong (Shirley Chen) is a normal teenager: She has an insatiable desire to fit in better. The difference is that she wants to be like everyone else in her predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, rather than the kid with slanted eyes, always looked upon with suspicion or disdain.
In high school, her BFF Brinda (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is also an outsider, who stands out because of her darker skin. The difference is Brinda has settled much more comfortably into her place in the school's social rankings by not caring so much about such things. For example, she's more than happy to pay Joan for her mother's homemade lunch, lovingly placed every day into a distinctive metal container.
Joan, in general, treats her parents with little regard, much like that homemade lunch. She is far more consumed with mooning about the popular girls in school, especially Olivia Hammond (Amelie Zilber), an insufferable internet influencer who holds sway over a tiny coterie of fellow schoolmates/followers.
If only there was something Joan could do about it! What if she could be blonde-haired and white, just like all the other popular girls in school (and women in advertising the world over)? What if?
Ambitiously written and deftly directed by Amy Wang, the opening act creates a family who are recognizable and authentic. As a stereotypical immigrant's child, Joan is somewhat embarrassed that her parents do not speak English fluently, never imagining how difficult it is for anyone to learn another language, much less as an adult. As a stereotypical teenager, she doesn't give much thought at all to any of the challenges facing her parents. Why is that her problem, she thinks? Why can't you just speak English, let me do what I want, and fund me fully?
Because of the breakdown in communication, she only talks to Brinda about any of her hopes and dreams, but even then, Joan is suffering from "a failure to communicate," as Strother Martin said in Cool Hand Luke (1967), and she keeps some things to herself, especially especially her burning desire to no longer be the only Asian student in the entire high school.
Thus, she falls prey to something that sounds like an internet scam, but in truth is another sort of influencer, only more insidious than Joan's high-school dream girl Olivia. A shadowy company called Ethnos offers Joan a mysterious -- and free! -- procedure that will somehow transform a person of color into a white person.
After a period of adjustment to the idea -- and further development of her unhappy high school and homelife experiences -- Joan undergoes the procedure cosmetic surgery and emerges as the stereotypically blonde and very, very white Jo Hunt (Mckenna Grace). Her return home is stormy, but her return to high school turns heads.
Even with a premise that trips merrily into the outrageous, Slanted still feels like a scruffy indie. It's made with quality ingredients, from Ed Wu's cinematography to Ryan Chan's editing to Ying-Te Julie Chen's production design, which bolster Amy Wang's script and direction. The tone gradually darkens; the humor remains, but it becomes more scattered as the dramatic consequences accumulate and sink in.
Shirley Chen and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan are adorable as BFFs, looking upon the magisterial Amelie Zilber like Molly Ringwald looked upon Haviland Morris in Sixteen Candles (1984), which was also about high-school embarrassment. The difference is that Slanted goes much, much further, aided and abetted by the transformative performance by Mckenna Grace.
Bringing grace and empathy to their roles, Vivian Hu and Fang Du are heartbreaking as Joan/Jo's parents. They are supportive to the nth degree, and are not overly troubled by her rebellious inclinations, which makes the film's developments truly come home.
Simultaneously a wild genre ride, a remarkably astute character study, and a provocative commentary on racial relations in These United States, Slanted is all of those things and more, placed into an entertaining and thoughtfully-packed container.