Lucia & Nicole

When Lucia (Suarez) discovers her childhood friend Nicole (Levis) living on the streets because her mother has forced her out of the house after Nicole’s coming out, Lucia’s mother Ximena (Nichols) allows Nicole to stay with them for the time being. However, Nicole’s re-appearance into their lives brings about questions and indeed realisations as to her own daughter’s identity and the truth behind her relationship with Nicole.

Lucia and Nicole offers a welcome addition to queer cinema that focuses not primarily on the intricacies of a specific relationship, but rather on how those who orbit that relationship come to face truths that they had previously hidden from themselves, as well as the way they choose to move forward thereafter. So, while Lucia and Nicole may be the titular characters, and of course, the story does get across the depth of their relationship to a degree, here it’s Ximena as the heedful mother that pulls the narrative focus, as the film looks to explore the idea of acceptance, of choosing love over all else.

There isn’t much of a deep dive into the backstory of everything going on here, but given that Lucia and Nicole’s mission is to tell the story of the now and after rather than the before of these character’s lives, that’s completely fine. It’s quite a lean, subdued film, with not many bells and whistles or heavy drama going on here, but its directness means that its message and sentiment can cut through clear as day. It moves to show that despite perhaps evolving and growing acceptance of individuality, situations such as Nicole’s are still commonplace, and the repercussions of that lack of acceptance can destroy lives and relationships irreparably.

We learn throughout the film’s ten minutes everything we need to to make the narrative take complete shape in our heads, having been granted a short window into these people’s lives which writer/director Marlene Emilia Rios makes sure is more than enough to connect, understand and at the end, hope nothing for the best for these characters going forward, an impressive achievement in such a short time frame.

Was Ximena indeed so unaware of the true nature of Lucia and Nicole’s relationship, or is a certain sense of denial simply eroding away? The film leaves it unclear, but its real aim is to show that Ximena now in fact faces a pivotal moment in how to proceed. It’s a short filled with poignancy and message, brought to life through concise yet powerful storytelling and a dependable cast bringing it all home.

A quite contained and minimal short, but nonetheless succinct and affecting as it achieves what it sets out to do, Lucia and Nicole is a wonderful addition to queer cinema.