Transamerica
Felicity Huffman puts in one heck of a performance
as the transgendered Bree, formerly Stanley.
Transgender characters are not often portrayed in
film and when they are, it's often not pretty. "Transamerica" does a fantastic
job of rounding out Bree, formerly Stanley, who discovers she has a 17-year-old
son about a week before the gender-altering operation. Advised by her therapist
(Elizabeth Pena) to deal with the situation, she goes cross country to bail Toby
out of jail.
Nervous about coming out as
a transgendered person, and as Toby's father, Bree poses as a woman from a
church group that helps bail people out of jail. "Church of the Potential
Father," she says.
The road trip they
take back to LA proves useful as they discover more about each other, with a few
disasters along the way, including the unsuccessful reunion with Toby's abusive
stepfather, a transgender party in Texas, a possible Native American suitor for
Bree, all culminating in a visit to Bree's parents.
Felicity Huffman succeeds in infusing
herself with a male aura. A lot of the issues that face transgendered people are
given full coverage here, and unlike the tragedy of Brandon Teena, which was
dramatized by Hilary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry," this film uses comedy without
stooping. Nor are all the loose ends tied up at the end,
either.
Huffman completely deserved her
Golden Globe award for her portrayal here.
Posted: Sat
- January 21, 2006 at 03:27 AM