Film Review – A Kid Like Jake

The story of “A Kid Like Jake” details careful steps of observation as two parents of a four-year-old child try to assess his place in the world once they pick up on her transgender future. It’s not an easy tale to tell, with screenwriter Daniel Pearle adapting his own play, laboring to take something very intimate and give it a bigger sense of life and stakes for the screen. He’s mostly successful, as “A Kid Like Jake” does very well putting forth a state of normality that’s corrupted by anxiety, keeping focus on the parents, who wrestle with various issues, trying to care deeply for their child as she goes from the bubble of home life to the social challenges of kindergarten. There’s no sensationalism here, just honest feelings and relatable concern, with Pearle making sure to keep challenges realistic, doing whatever he can to shoo away the artificiality of a television movie.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com