Tucked (2018) is an English movie written and directed by Jamie Patterson.
The film stars Derren Nesbitt as Jackie, a straight man who performs as a woman at a nightclub. He's not just Jackie, as he tells us. He's "The one and only Jackie."
Within the first few minutes of the movie, we learn that Jackie has a particularly aggressive form of cancer. His physician tells him to ease back a little, but naturally that's exactly what Jackie doesn't want to do.
Enter Jordan Stephens as Faith, a new performing artist at the club. We're never sure if Faith is straight or gay, and that's the way he wants it. He's very talented, and he certainly could be successful, especially after Jackie takes him under his wing.
There's a subplot about Jackie's estranged daughter, which is predictable, but works well enough. Actually, the entire film is fairly predictable. We know the beginning and we know the end.
What makes the film work is what happens along the way. It helps that the acting is truly outstanding. We learn to care about both Jackie and Faith and to care about exactly what will happen next.
We saw this movie at Rochester's great Little Theatre, as part of the outstanding Image Out, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on the small screen.
This movie has too few IMDb ratings to be meaningful, and I believe that I'm the first IMDb reviewer. So . . . you'll have to take my word for it that Tucked is worth seeing. Or, as Faith says, "Everyone needs a little faith."
