Review: 'Mutt' is an eye-opening, gut-wrenching look at a day in the life of a trans man, sensitively played by newcomer Lio Mehiel

The New York drama “Mutt,” writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s strong and tender feature debut, shows us an intensely busy 24 hours in the life of a young trans man — and it’s the actor in the center, newcomer Lio Mehiel, who makes you want to stay through the night.

Mehiel plays Feña, who on this day is stressed that his father, Pablo (Alejandro Goic), is flying up from Chile for a visit. Feña hasn’t seen his father in two years — and Pablo has never seen his son, because he hasn’t seen Feña since he transitioned.

As if that weren’t stressful enough, Feña learns that the person from whom he was going to borrow a car, to go pick his dad at the Newark airport, has flaked. At the same time, Feña learns that his ex-boyfriend, John (Cole Doman), is back in town — and, yes, the last time John saw Feña, it was before his transition. Also during the day, Feña’s 14-year-old half-sister, Zoe (MiMi Ryder), shows up, trying to avoid their mom, whose abuse forced the pre-transition Feña to move out.

Through this day, Lungulov-Klotz (a trans man himself) shows the daily frustrations Feña must deal with as a recently transitioned person, such as a bank teller who calls him “ma’am” or a pharmacist who calls him “sir” but doesn’t understand why a guy needs to buy a Plan B pill.

Feña brushes back the indignities with a resigned air, though he will put someone in their place if necessary — like the woman (Sarah Herrman) who is fascinated by Feña’s top surgery and then blurts out the rude question of whether he’s had surgery below the belt. “No, and don’t ever ask that,” Feña replies. Jenny counters, “Don’t you want to be a full man?,” to which Feña responds, “I don’t need a dick for that.” (Considering the number of men in the world with functional penises who aren’t full men, Feña makes a good point.)

Mehiel was given a special jury prize for acting at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and damn if they didn’t earn it. Mehiel plays with a wealth of complicated emotions — confronting three figures from Feña’s past in his new body — across their expressive face, holding it all the pain and defiance within their tense jawline. It’s an impressive performance in a tightly wound and unexpectedly deep movie.

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’Mutt’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, September 1, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City). Not rated, but probably R for sexual content and language. Running time: 87 minutes.