Review of The Gymnast

Netflix has this movie classified as “Gay and Lesbian,” which, taken in the broadest context may be correct, but in reality, this is a sort of coming-of-age story of a 43-year-old woman who is seeking a new direction for her life. If you are expecting steamy bedroom scenes with lesbians making out on screen, you have the wrong movie. Directed by Ned Farr and released in 2006, this is a sensitive, tasteful, and well-crafted film with fine acting and good production values. Dreya Weber, an aerialist who performed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, also produced the film, and she is excellent as Jane Hawkins, the central character. Like a good novel, the point of view never wavers: the viewer only hears and sees what Jane hears and sees.

Jane is 40ish, and in a childless marriage with David, played by the late David de Simone. Since they both work, they have little free time together. What little time they do have together he spends drinking beer and watching football games, while she does the housework. She wants children, he doesn’t. A massage therapist serving high-end clients in Southern California, Jane is also a former Olympic gymnast who just missed competing in the Games due to an untimely injury. A new client turns out to be a former Olympian and friend, Denise (Allison Mackie), who has married wealthy and urges Jane to seek an outside interest.

Jane decides to pursue aerial dancing, an art form involving the use of a single rope suspended from the ceiling on which the aerialist performs various seemingly impossible acrobatics--with no safety net. During the course of her lessons she meets Serena (Addie Yungmee), and they decide to team up. Their close proximity and a feeling of kinship gradually develop into a romantic relationship. Eventually they form an act known as silk dancing. Wearing skin-colored costumes that make them appear nude, the women use large silk scarves to cover themselves as they perform their aerial gymnastics. An agent discovers them, and they are booked to do a show in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, apparently realizing he is losing Jane, David decides that he wants children after all, and thus one of the basic conflicts of the story is created: Does Jane pursue her new career and love interest, or return to her old life and raise a family? How she resolves her dilemma, I shall leave to the viewer to discover.

Written by Michael Carp, this seemingly hackneyed plot is woven into a very pleasant fabric of the mundane and dramatic. The silk dancing is simply exquisite, and that alone would make the movie worth watching. Jane and Serena’s aerial dances are sensual as well as amazingly acrobatic. The audience is gently teased by their use of the scarves to conceal their apparent nudity, while they perform impossible athletic feats. Jane and Serena are a joy to watch. The ending, during which a routine road stop turns into something else, is both amusing and unexpected.

This unpretentious film is a 98-minute, five-star movie that can be enjoyed by anyone except those who are actually repulsed by the idea of bisexuality. Available on Netflix and for sale on Amazon, I highly recommend this fine film for both adult and young adult audiences.