TransAmerica
I just saw TransAmerica, a film about a transsexual who discovers he has a 17-year old son, and the son of course. Generally speaking, I avoid films about transsexuals: they are either superficial or depressing (cf. Soldier’s Girl, the first one I ever saw), however, it is undeniable that there is something emphatically unsettling about gender dysphoria (previous post) which makes it a prime subject for films. In fact, this one wouldn’t have been high on my list if it weren’t for the irony of a woman (Felicity Huffman) playing a man in the process of becoming a woman. I wonder what made them cast her: even though she did a superb job, throughout the movie the fact that the actress was indeed a woman kept drawing my attention. The movie would have had a very different impact if Bree had been played by a man; I suspect it would have been more depressing (because it would have been closer to the reality of gender dysphoria).
Possibly relevant posts:
- Gender dysphoria (10/8/2005)
- Jumper is being made into a movie! (4/23/2007)
- So-so movies (4/26/2009)