Directed by Billy Porter, “Anything’s Possible” captures the soul of Gen Z and beautifully portrays a slice of life; the romantic story of a young woman who has recently transitioned into a gorgeous woman and talks about the obstacles she faced just to be herself. The movie also captures the acceptance and the desire to be educated about the LGBTQ+ community. The film was released on July 22nd, 2022, on Amazon Prime and has won the hearts of many.
‘Anything’s Possible’ Plotline: What Is The Film About?
The story opens with Kelsa beginning her last year at high school. She was assigned male at birth, and she had transitioned before her school began. Her friends Em and Chris support her and cheer her up, along with her mother, Selene. Kelsa begins her year with a positive mindset, experiencing some minor setbacks and getting back on her feet immediately. She falls in love with Khalid, a classmate who harbors a crush on her. Khalid and Kelsa get together and enjoy a sweet romance before they have to go their separate ways as individuals to really explore who they are.
Spoilers Ahead
Kelsa’s Relationships
Kelsa was really struggling with some mental issues due to her father’s refusal to accept her transition. Her mother shouldered everything and did not let Kelsa feel the absence of her father. Kelsa felt that her transition might be the reason behind her father divorcing her mother and not contacting Kelsa anymore. She did not want her mother to shoulder her responsibility because she felt that it was a burden on her. Her confidence had hit rock bottom after her father left her. She started second-guessing herself and her every decision. Her decision to transition early in her life left her to listen to a lot of hate as well as witness her father walking out of her life. Her mother supported her endlessly, but Kelsa had her mind set on moving out of state to college to achieve her dreams and find herself. She was still new to being her true self and wanted to explore her wants, sexuality, and likes before making another decision. Although her mother wanted her to stay home with her, she fully supported Kelsa because she had realized that Kelsa wanted anonymity to enjoy life her way.
Khalid harbored a secret crush on Kelsa and had been following her posts and went out of his way to educate himself about the trans community and their gender issues. He stood up for Kelsa and even stopped associating with his friend, who refused to educate himself and rather stuck to his limited knowledge about gender and created a ruckus. Khalid overcame his initial fear of creating problems for Kelsa as well as being judged by his family for dating a trans woman. His main fear was that his parents would not accept Kelsa and then use that as a way to mistreat her. Khalid really loved her and was willing to be at the receiving point of any hate if that meant Kelsa would be helped. Kelsa accepted Khalid’s proposal, and she found herself happier with him. Khalid and her mother supported her in every venture. Khalid was part of some of her best moments in life, and she felt loved and accepted wholeheartedly.
Kelsa had two friends at the beginning, Em, and Chris. Both of them supported her, and they were best of friends. However, Em had started to like Khalid. She was heartbroken, and she rejected her friend Kelsa. Em started talking behind her back and creating a ruckus. Chris was the only one who stuck with Kelsa and started to help her out whenever she could. Chris defended Kelsa when she started dating Khalid and wholeheartedly supported her. Em, frustrated by Chris’ support, started spreading rumors about Chris’ breakup. She had accidentally broken her finger when Kelsa decided to confront her while she was spreading the rumors about Chris. Em then used the incident to make Kelsa feel more like an outsider than she already felt. She was banned from using women’s spaces, denying her gender, and instead had to use the unisex washrooms that were never cleaned. In protest, Chris motivated the entire student body to the side with Kelsa, and the principal was forced to lift the ban. Em did come clean about her lie and asked for Kelsa’s forgiveness.
Kelsa felt as if she was a burden to everybody. Her decision to be selfish and live her own identity was creating a huge problem for those around her. She had even started a YouTube channel to talk about her life, her problems, and her struggles to vent her frustrations and also to help somebody in a similar situation. She felt that people were taking pity on her and resented that. She feared rejection as well as acceptance. She feared that people would reject her identity and would never accept her, love her, or date her. She also feared acceptance because she felt as if people would accept her only for the novelty of being with a trans person or for feeling woke. She did not like how people called her brave and courageous for transitioning so early in her life. She only wanted to be accepted as normal. This put her on edge whenever someone new approached her. This also led her to have a big fight with both Chris and Khalid. She broke up with Khalid as well due to low spirits and not being accepted as normal.
Trans Community Acceptance
Transitioning out of the assigned gender at birth is both pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasant due to the fact that a person gains the identity they want and the identity that makes them feel normal. This lets them lead a life where they are happy, and they can finally be at peace with themselves. Sometimes transitioning into one gender might be cathartic; similarly, after a while, if they do not feel comfortable in their new gender, people may transition back or adopt a non-binary gender. This is not really talked about in an open society. There is a social awareness. However, most people refuse to admit it and usually behave callously toward them.
The experience is unpleasant due to the fact that, even though the person may have supporters, there are many people who simply refuse to educate themselves and become a menace to society. Different videos on social media of people who were trying to create awareness among teachers and students were met with derogatory comments and hate from a lot of people. People who hide behind their computers aim to make a comment on the other person’s lifestyle, essentially being a cyber-bully. These cyber-bullies are numerous, which makes it difficult for a single person to retaliate. This is a common thing in countries like India. Society is set on its path to change, but due to these kinds of people, it becomes impossible for people to find the courage to transition to their own identities.
The trans community is still hailed as a separate community, and their genders are not accepted by most. It should be normal for a person to assume their own identity instead of being met with utter hate for assuming a normal life. Nobody is perfect, and if somebody wants to work on their flaws and rather be at peace with themselves, then that should be normal. They should not be adhering to a group of opinions that tell them to not live as themselves. Sometimes the opinions are usually passed on by friends and family. That hurts the most. Some people have the courage to outgrow them, and some do not and are stuck in a cycle of love and hate.
Conclusion To Her Decision To Move And Grow Up.
Kelsa’s decision to move to a college away from her hometown and explore her life and community was a good move on her part. She wanted to understand herself more and be accepted as a normal student without the tag of being a trans woman and being singled out every time. She wanted to find her purpose and wanted to be anonymous, away from the fame of not being normal in her hometown. She broke up with Khalid to experience the world because, even though long-distance relationships are an option, she wanted to experience and find out more about herself and her likes. If she did that while staying in a relationship with Khalid, she would have hurt both of them. Her relationship taught her a lot and helped her through a lot. She loves and respects Khalid. However, their paths are different. She was not afraid to work for what she had envisioned for herself and to be truly happy, which is why the ending to the sweetest relationship, which made it seem like Khalid was the one for her, is not sad at all. Instead, it was the beginning for Kelsa and Khalid to explore their lives and understand themselves better.
“Anything’s Possible” is a 2022 Drama Romance film directed by Billy Porter.
