When Elliot Page talks, you listen. And even when he doesn’t, you can’t help but watch, waiting for him to figure out what he needs to say next — such is the power of the actor, here at his best in the largely improvised and deeply personal Close To You, which hinges almost entirely on Page’s soulful performance.

The actor shared with the world in 2020 that he identified as a transgender man and had changed his name to Elliot Page. His character in Close To You, Sam, is ostensibly a work of fiction, but grapples with a reality you can imagine Page understands all too well. The film isn’t about Sam’s struggle to accept his identity — rather, it concerns his relationships with, and more undiscerning prejudice from, those around him: his family and an old friend-slash-flame.

Page has no trouble switching from animosity to empathy without flinching.