Framing Agnes (2022)
83%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Framing Agnes may be frustratingly uneven as a work of cinematic storytelling, but that’s often outweighed by its thoughtful expansion of established historical narrative.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s gonna blow your socks off with its storytelling skills, Framing Agnes might not be your cup of tea. But hey, don’t write it off just yet! This flick does a pretty good job of adding some fresh perspective to history that we thought we already knew. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s got heart. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
Production Company(ies)
LGBTQ Stories
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, United States; Los Angeles Thirty Mile Zone, California, United States
MPAA / Certificate
NR
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 15m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, Canada
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2022 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 31, 2023
Genre(s)
Documentary/Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
documentary, LGBTQ+, transgender, historical, UCLA, gender-affirming healthcare, reenactments, trans performers, Angelica Ross, Jen Richards, Zackary Drucker, Max Valerio, Silas Howard, Stephen Ira, directed by Chase Joynt, produced by Samantha Curley, Shant Joshi, Chase Joynt, written by Chase Joynt and Morgan M Page, Kino Lorber, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Matt Fagerholm, Teo Bugbee, Shannon Keating, Nick Allen, Richard Brody, Jude Dry, Avi Offer, MPAA rating, Samantha Curley, Shant Joshi, LGBTQ+ history, forgotten history, trans history, trans community, nonfiction, fiction, all-star cast, collaborators, conspirators, forgotten figures, trans performers, trans artists, trans thinkers, vintage reenactments, trans artifacts, trans lineage, trans history-makers, trans storytelling, trans representation, trans visibility, trans activism, trans rights, trans acceptance, trans inclusion, trans empowerment, trans liberation
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jen Richards – self
Zackary Drucker – self
Max Valerio – self
Silas Howard – self
Stephen Ira – self
Chase Joynt – director, writer, producer
Samantha Curley – producer
Shant Joshi – producer
Morgan M. Page – writer
Director(s)
Chase Joynt
Writer(s)
Chase Joynt, Morgan M. Page, Chase Joynt, Morgan M. Page
Producer(s)
Samantha Curley, Shant Joshi, Chase Joynt
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (29) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (7)
Essential viewing.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Fagerholm
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Joynt’s scope as a researcher is admirably broad, but what his film lacks is a sense of purpose as a work of cinema.
December 1, 2022
Teo Bugbee
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s a smart and inventive method of storytelling that nods to the reality that, until very recently, most trans people in pop culture have been relegated to trashy daytime TV, where they’ve tended to be cruelly depicted as aberrations.
July 25, 2022
Shannon Keating
BuzzFeed News
TOP CRITIC
[A] richly heady, thoughtful documentary [that] is constantly welcoming us in by reflecting on itself.
February 1, 2022
Nick Allen
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Framing Agnes is a film of quiet but decisive radicality that builds its own genesis and production into it.
January 29, 2022
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Unfortunately, Framing Agnes gets too wrapped up in the questions surrounding storytelling to do any actual storytelling.
January 28, 2022 | Rating: C+
Jude Dry
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
One of the most underwhelming, clunkily-edited and shallow documentaries of the year
December 2, 2022
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru
For such a studiously artificial work… it is profoundly moving.
October 6, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Jennie Kermode
Eye for Film
It is a challenging film that expects its audience to sit up with their brains fully activated the entire time; for those watching who are tuned into its wavelength, the intellectual rewards are plenty.
July 11, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
Cody Dericks
Next Best Picture
…this documentary’s endless dwelling on its own process can be maddening. Still, it opens a window into a past that was more diverse than we knew…
June 28, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
The execution could have been more skillfully done, yet it hits on a fascinating subject.
April 23, 2022 | Rating: B-
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Framing Agnes is a thought-provoking and necessary exploration of trans stories, reframing the narrative of the trans community, and opening the vaults of history to a huge range of fascinating voices that had previously been locked away.
March 28, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Amelia Harvey
Screen Queens…
Plot
In 1958, a young trans woman named Agnes entered a study about sex disorders at UCLA to get the gender-affirming care she needed, by any means necessary. Her story was long considered to be exceptional until never-before-seen case files of other patients were found in 2017. Through a collaborative practice of re-imagination, an impressive lineup of trans stars take on vividly rendered, impeccably vintage reenactments, bringing to life groundbreaking artifacts of trans healthcare.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Laverne Cox appears in the film through archive footage.
Chase-Joynt.jpg
