‘Enigma’ Review: A Fascinating Portrait of Two Trailblazing Transgender Legends
With “Enigma,” director Zackary Drucker (“The Stroll”) makes another intriguing film about trans history. From the sidewalks of New York, this time she takes the audience to glamourous Parisian
nightclubs and the fringes of British aristocracy to tell the story of Amanda Lear and April Ashley. The film is a straightforward chronological documentary relying on archival footage and media interviews from that era. Most fascinating is Drucker’s interview with Lear, which gives “Enigma” much-needed tension and conflict to balance out the conventionality of the rest of the proceedings.
Dubbed the “white queen of disco,” Lear was a famous performer and celebrity in the 1970s, while Ashley started as a model and became a pioneer of trans rights advocacy in her native Britain. According to Ashley, on whose book and recollections most of the film is constructed, they met as showgirls in the late 1950s in the Parisian cabaret Le Carrousel. According to the film, Lear was known as Peki d’Oslo at that time. Though Ashley became her mentor, after they both transitioned, Lear was adamant about living as a woman, so she denied her past and cut off everyone who knew her before. Meanwhile, Ashley was outed because of a messy divorce in the British courts, forcing her into years of trying to claim her identity as a woman while being treated as a freak.
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The dichotomy between the two subjects, both pioneers idolized by many contemporary trans women, gives “Enigma” its narrative strength. Using archival interviews, mostly from TV, Lear and Ashley are asked again and again whether they were biologically born male. Lear denies, while Ashley insists that she is “biologically male and socially female.” Both confrontations are tough to watch, especially in the current climate, when trans people are constantly asked to prove themselves. Lear and Ashley just wanted to live their lives and pursue their career dreams. It’s to “Enigma”’s credit that it doesn’t take sides, presenting both paths as valid.
The film also allows the women to show their personalities. While Lear was interviewed by Drucker and Ashley (who died in 2021) mostly appears in archival interviews, both are given ample screen time to show their personalities. April is funny and self-deprecating, seemingly comfortable in her skin despite the constant questioning of her gender. Lear also comes across as confident, though tension bubbles beneath as she denies ever knowing Ashley or having been at Le Carrousel. She also refuses to give her birth name or talk about her life in definitive terms. But would the audience have noticed this if Drucker hadn’t personally interviewed Lear and confronted her with evidence from her past? Lear remains steadfast that she’s always been a woman, but the film keeps cutting away to other people confirming her transition.
The Drucker/Lear interview gives “Enigma” its most interesting talking point. While both are polite to each other and Drucker shows warmth, there’s also conflict and confrontation. That raises questions about how much truth queer pioneers owe their contemporary counterparts. Lear chose a path and managed to live her life exactly as she wanted. The film tries to out her and keeps quoting Ashley’s book, which outed her. Additionally, there are passages written by the filmmakers and narrated by an actor based on Ashley’s life, which seem too inquisitive toward Lear. Still, Lear agreed to be interviewed, and her history — including questions about her gender — are public record. “Enigma” offers no definitive opinion on which path is favorable, Ashley’s or Lear’s. However, the Lear interviews give it a distinctive edge and make it more than the usual documentary recounting some famous person’s life.
Elsewhere, “Enigma” sticks to a conventional format. There are interviews with performers from Le Carrousel and with contemporary historians and performers commenting on Ashley and Lear. The scenes with the contemporary historians are not as strong, as if added to contextualize information the filmmakers weren’t able to do organically. An awkward scene showing two people walking around the Pigalle in Paris while talking of the history of drag performance further proves that point.
Both Lear and Ashley prove to be intriguing protagonists for a documentary. Drucker’s admiration for them comes through clearly. However “Enigma,” an HBO production that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, derives its strength mostly from Lear’s resolve to always be herself. And with that, the film can inspire courage in its audience, whatever their identity.
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