As transgender issues work their way forward into the
popular media and public consciousness, it’s easy to suppose how the hot topic
could be exploited by would-be filmmakers wishing to make a name for
themselves, hoping that audiences would mistake using trans people as props for
genuine activism on behalf of an oppressed minority. Thankfully, that’s not what has happened with
Tangerine, a crazy day in the life of
a couple of transgender sex workers.
This is largely due to a sense of authenticity lent to the film by the
two leads actually being transgender sex workers and the film’s story
apparently mirroring some of their experiences.
It is Christmas Eve, and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) has
just been released from a short jail term.
While meeting up with her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor), she learns
that her fiancée/pimp was sleeping with another woman while she was away. Sin-Dee decides to go on a cross-town tirade
to track down this woman so that she can confront her fiancée, while Alexandra tags
along distributing flyers for her singing performance later that evening.
The experience of this film is rather unique in how it feels
so authentic. Shot on an iPhone with an
anamorphic adapter for widescreen and at real locations in West Hollywood, the
film feels devoid of the pomp and circumstance of big budget productions,
instead relying on the charisma and emotion of its amateur actors to pull the
weight of the storytelling. All involved
do a fantastic job, particularly the two leads whom I was shocked to learn had
little to no prior acting experience.
They are naturally funny in playing caricatured self-portraits, yet when
the moment calls for them to be more serious they are more than up for the
task, particularly for a climax that is touching as it is appropriate for the
film’s Christmas setting.
The only unfortunate thing about this film is that its
already short runtime of 87 minutes feels padded with a distracting
subplot. The film continually cuts away
to Razmin, an Armenian cab driver who frequently uses transgender prostitutes’
services to cope with his culture’s abhorrence with his homosexuality. I spent most of the film trying to figure out
what purpose he served in Sin-Dee’s and Alexandra’s narratives, and
unfortunately there isn’t much of one.
Razmin’s brief interactions with the two women make an impact on his
story, but his story ultimately has no resolution and only serves to distract
from the most touching moments Sin-Dee and Alexandra share. Perhaps director Sean S. Baker was trying to
make a point by not giving Razmin any sort of proper closure, but he feels like
he should have been a character in his own film, rather than be overshadowed by
the infinitely more interesting leads.
That said, Razmin has his share of funny moments, so his presence isn’t
a total waste of time.
Ultimately, even with the seemingly pointless Razmin
subplot, Tangerine is a great movie,
particularly in its natural portrayal of its transgender subjects. The film does not shy away from knowledge
that discrimination and violence against trangender individuals and sex workers
are very real issues, but that is also not the main point of the film; the
point is to show a day in the life of these people in a way that is human and
relatable, in a way that makes us laugh and cry along with them. Rodriguez and Taylor have shown us a glimpse
of their world that I won’t be forgetting any time soon.
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