Transamerica
Yesterday Michele and I finally saw Transamerica. We kept waiting, hoping it would come to a theater near us. It didn't. We traveled 23 miles each way to see it. It was good, really good, and Felicity Huffman was outstanding. I'm sure it was controversial to cast a woman in the part but she makes it very believable that she's a pre-op F2M.
There are quibbles to be made about authenticity but I feel they are pretty minor in the big picture and actually help to impart some knowledge about the process: Bree, while only 2 weeks away from SRS, doesn't yet have her two psych letters and her main counselor holds the letter hostage until Bree deals with her son. Also, in the real SRS world she'd be off estrogen at this point.
Probably the best thing about the film is that it presents the subject of transsexualism without sensationalism or preaching. It's the main subject of the film but it's presented and intertwined with the story of the main characters, Bree and Toby, getting to know themselves as they drop their guards while getting to know each other. The movie rightly (IMHO) puts the emphasis on the personal change, the process of self understanding, rather than on the physical change, the SRS operation. Many have knocked the movie because of the way it turns into a "travel movie". Perhaps the cross country journey is a plot device too often employed but their physical journey parallels the personal journey towards self understanding and acceptance that each character makes.
I was quite impressed that 30 or so people came out to see this movie but I wonder if they really knew what it was about. There's a pivotal scene where Toby learns Bree's secret when Bree's penis gets exposed. Someone in the audience audibly gasped at that! Although Bree is played by a woman didn't they understand that the character of Bree still had a penis?
When the movie was over I felt like I should stand up and ask if there were any questions. I didn't. Perhaps an opportunity missed.
There are quibbles to be made about authenticity but I feel they are pretty minor in the big picture and actually help to impart some knowledge about the process: Bree, while only 2 weeks away from SRS, doesn't yet have her two psych letters and her main counselor holds the letter hostage until Bree deals with her son. Also, in the real SRS world she'd be off estrogen at this point.
Probably the best thing about the film is that it presents the subject of transsexualism without sensationalism or preaching. It's the main subject of the film but it's presented and intertwined with the story of the main characters, Bree and Toby, getting to know themselves as they drop their guards while getting to know each other. The movie rightly (IMHO) puts the emphasis on the personal change, the process of self understanding, rather than on the physical change, the SRS operation. Many have knocked the movie because of the way it turns into a "travel movie". Perhaps the cross country journey is a plot device too often employed but their physical journey parallels the personal journey towards self understanding and acceptance that each character makes.
I was quite impressed that 30 or so people came out to see this movie but I wonder if they really knew what it was about. There's a pivotal scene where Toby learns Bree's secret when Bree's penis gets exposed. Someone in the audience audibly gasped at that! Although Bree is played by a woman didn't they understand that the character of Bree still had a penis?
When the movie was over I felt like I should stand up and ask if there were any questions. I didn't. Perhaps an opportunity missed.
posted by Nicole Thomas at
3:02 PM
2 Comments:
I totally know what you are thinking, I felt like I was a bit on display at the movie when I saw it in DC. Wispers from the corners while I was waiting for my parnter in the restroom. Is that one?
By
Anonymous, at 2/23/2006 10:37 PM
I never felt like I was read. Rather, it seemed to me that the movie was a great intro for a teaching experience. There, in one place, were 30+ people from the general public with a mind open enough to come out to a movie about transsexualism. I can just see using that movie as part of outreach.
By
Nicole Thomas, at 2/24/2006 9:10 AM
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