We all have our hidden agendas when we ask to meet up with an old friend, whether we care to admit it or not. Usually, intentions are to gather some harmless intel, but other times we will actively seek to collect damning evidence from the party opposite, cull a confession. This is the drama inherent in any rendezvous, and the drama that drives See You Then, the debut feature film from Mari Walker.

But there is more to this 76-minute conversation than just friends probing each other (getting the “tea,” if you will). Walker’s work investigates identity, insecurity, ambition, relationships, and the trans experience, here compressed into a single evening’s discourse á la Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Andre (1981), written to allow the themes and characters to live and grow beyond the scope of the screen. Kris (Pooya Mohseni, who previously appeared in 2020 SXSW favourite Lapsis) and Naomi (Lynn Chen) are estranged friends turned lovers turned exes who, ten years after their sudden split, agree to meet for drinks and chin-wag about their careers and their personal lives and the perspectives they’ve formulated throughout the years. Paramount of the developments the two have experienced is Kris’ transition as a woman; but more even more hot-button are the many layers of complication that surrounded the dismantling of their relationship.

See You Then is a film in which the writing is very much the star. The script, a collaboration between Walker and Kristen Uno, is full of rich, authentic character details, and it flows effortlessly throughout the course of the film’s runtime. Of course, any catch-up conversation allows for big expository, biographical detail dumps, but if a conversation of this nature is going to form the basis of your narrative, then it makes sense to utilize the gabber to its full extent. Mohseni and Chen do a wonderful job of carrying us through the peaks, valleys, and tangents of their evening’s discussions, and while they do come off as awkward and stuff at the film’s beginning, they later settle into their roles quite naturally, much like you’d expect two friends to do after years of disconnection. No one knows exactly what front to put on when attempting to reconcile; for Kris and Naomi, the question becomes whether to maintain a front or not.

Because the peaks and valleys I mentioned grow larger as we approach the film’s emotional climax, See You Then inevitably dips into melodrama territory, characters withholding and revealing at conveniently paced intervals so as to keep intrigue piqued. Whether you remain on board with the film throughout these slightly manipulative turns will depend on your personal taste, but the “twists” presented are, for the most point, hugely satisfying. They also feel earned, which is to say that they fall as logical reactions to weaponized, emotional gut-punches.

It is clear that Walker has put a lot of thought and care into her characters and that, in pitting them against each other, she only aims to create a space in which mutual respect and understanding can be cultivated in the most recognizably human of ways. See You Then also brings a trans experience to the forefront with the character of Kris (played by Mohseni, who is herself trans), and it never does so in a way that is exploitative or reductive. The film may not shatter your expectations of character-driven dramas, but as far as conversations between friends go, See You Then is one of the most constructive in its dissolution.

SXSW 2021 | "See You Then" and the Breakdown of the Break-Up