Every so often you see a film so stunning that it commands your full attention. And T11 Incomplete is one of those. The love story between Kate, a home help aide whose life is falling apart, and Laura, a young disabled woman who lives with her controlling brother, is beautiful to witness. It’s so raw and compelling that you won’t feel the need to sneak sly glances at your phone, for fear of missing anything.
Its characters, each flawed and vulnerable in their own way, draw you into the story. None more than our protagonist, Kate (Karen Sillas). There is real tenderness in how Kate cares for her patients. She bathes, shaves, and spoon-feeds strangers with a smile on her face. But Kate also steals from them, lifting a few notes from thick wedges of cash whenever she is unobserved.
After ten years sober, Kate is still struggling to make amends to a son that resents her – and punishes Kate for her past mistakes by limiting contact with her grandson. Though she’s living in poverty – unable to replace even trainers that are falling apart – Kate doesn’t spend any of the money she takes on herself. She buys pain relief for her only companion, a dying cat, and an extravagant gift for her grandson because “it’s what he wanted.”
In desperate need of cash, Kate takes on another patient. Laura (Kristen Renton) lost her long-term girlfriend and the use of her legs in a car crash. T11 Incomplete, the film’s title, refers to the spinal injury that paralyzed her. The accident happened four years ago, and Laura had been living an independent life – until she broke her clavicle. In Kate she finds not only physical support, but a companion who is capable of seeing her as a person rather than a patient.
But as Kate’s relationship with Laura deepens, her past catches up with her. And Steve – who mistrusts the intimacy between Kate and his sister – makes sure that the net around her tightens.
T11 Incomplete is subtle, and light on exposition. We follow the characters through scenes both extraordinary and everyday – and are left to form our own judgements of their actions. Lonely shots of Kate smoking on her porch, or Laura feeling lost at the party her brother insists on throwing her, take only a few moments. Yet they communicate so much about each woman’s life – and the isolation that draws them together.
And T11 is quietly radical in its depiction of lesbian love. How many stories recognize that a middle-aged grandmother or a disabled woman are desirable? But that’s exactly what T11 does, without any fanfare. And that’s what makes the movie so powerful.
Too often disabled people are written out of love stories altogether, gay or straight. Yet Laura recognized as igniting a passion in Kate that’s otherwise missing from her life. It’s Laura that initiates romantic and sexual contact – and media depictions of disabled people having agency in their love lives are still, unfortunately, rare. Director Suzanne Guacci is herself disabled, and made a point of hiring cast and crew members with disabilities, which adds authenticity to the story she is telling.
“My theory has always been ‘if not me – a disabled, lesbian writer/director – then who?’ It must start with me,” says Guacci, “And by being inclusive we are opening up the scope of this film to several communities who seek honest representation.”
It’s significant that Laura has adjusted to her disability; it’s never treated as a source of angst. Rather, Steve’s overbearing behavior is the source of Laura’s problems. When Steve pushes Laura’s wheelchair towards the game she’s trying to escape, infantilizes Laura to undermine her relationship with Kate, his controlling streak grows apparent.
While there are certainly red flags, T11 never offers a definitive answer about whether Steve is abusing Laura. The ambiguity of their relationship is uncomfortable – and it’s supposed to be. Through Laura’s story, T11 highlights the ways in which carers can exploit their power over disabled women in particular.
Yet, for all its difficult themes, T11 Incomplete is a film about hope and second chances. Their relationship is a place of safety for Kate and Laura both, in a world that leaves them vulnerable. And the chemistry between them is off the charts. You find yourself hoping, against all the odds, that these two women will find a way to be together. Because T11 Incomplete is a story about the redemptive power of lesbian love.
T11 Incomplete is now streaming on Prime Video
