If the presence of Will Ferrell draws audiences into this gentle, meaningful, and funny meditation on gender identity and friendship, then all the better. Will & Harper is a tender and entertaining film, lovingly conceived with the best of intentions, and edited together for maximum emotional effect.
Ferrell may be the reason the film got made, and the driving force behind its promotion and pull, but despite his celebrity he's there as a kind of everyman ("Ricky Bobby!" a bystander shouts) and witness. We watch him slowly let down his comedic guard and realize the seriousness of his friend's experience, shedding tears over her pain, grasping both the beauty and the dangers she now faces as a trans woman, and comprehending his own responsibility as her straight, famous friend.
The story is about Harper's journey, but the film represents a voyage for them both.
This is how hearts and minds get changed. The pair have both shown significant courage and vulnerability in opening up on screen to share this experience. The film captures their conversations, set up before they're even together in person when two separate interviews are spliced together as if in dialogue.
It's one example of the clever editing and use of transitions which keep the road movie visually and aurally interesting. Other examples are the overlapping of maps tracking their movements, the counting of days, the interweaving of humor (highs) and drama (lows), and the fantastic assignment of poignant, fitting tunes for each stage of their journey, from Sonny & Cher's I Got You Babe, to a version of Simon & Garfunkel's America, Dylan's Shelter from the Storm, to The Band's The Weight, and finally buddy Kristen Wiig's excellent "Will & Harper" theme song during closing credits.
Full review at Common Sense Media
Images courtesy of Netflix
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