Trying to understand 'Transamerica'
May 5th 2008 04:01
Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
Transamerica (2005) is a surprisingly conventional, but not bad, movie. Felicity Huffman won kudos as well as awards playing pre-op male-to-female transsexual Sabrina (Bree) Claire Osbourne. To anyone familiar with American road movies, the movie treads familiar ground. It begins when Bree finds out that she has a seventeen-year-old son, Toby (Kevin Zegers), when he calls her to bail him out of jail. Posing as a Christian missionary, Bree picks up Toby--at the behest of her therapist, not because she wants him in her life--and the pair embark on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles. Toby doesn't know it, but Bree must make it back in time to have her operation.
Soon, Bree learns that Toby has been doing recreational drugs and working as a hustler. It's clear that Toby is open-minded and desperately wants to meet his father, but Bree can't bring herself to tell Toby that she is transsexual, or more importantly, that she is his father. In a movie like this, all is of course revealed eventually, but not before it goes through a few requisite road movie tropes, including a supposed peyote shaman who steals Bree and Toby's car and money, and a Navajo trucker named Calvin (in a genteel performance from Graham Greene) who helps them get back on course.
Much of the plot development and humour come from how Bree and Toby are foils for each other. They are similarly dysfunctional because of their respective family problems, which are revealed during stops in the road trip, but Bree’s conservative personality often clashes with that of the more open-minded son. Bree wants to be inconspicuous; she is "stealth", i.e., presents herself as a biological woman, to everyone except for transgendered acquaintances and her therapist. Indeed, when Toby discovers that Bree is transsexual, he says that she’s “not a freak, just a liar”. Bree takes offence, however, when Toby questions why a transsexual would belong to a church. "My body may be a work in progress," she says angrily, "But there is nothing wrong with my soul."
In part because of the two main characters' fringe identities, one interesting thing about Transamerica is its depiction of gender roles, and how both Bree and Toby display stereotypically feminine traits. Bree may have been born male, but she acts exceedingly female; even her tastes in clothing and home décor--lots of pastels and florals--are old-fashioned and feminine. Moreover, when an attraction develops between her and Calvin, her voice and body language become almost embarrassingly coquettish.
On the other hand, Toby’s delicate and dimpled prettiness underscores his vulnerability, as well as his femininity. After the car is stolen, one of the first things he does, with quiet ease, is find a john. Later, when he realises that he’s become attached to Bree, he tells her, "I'll marry you if you want," even though she’s given no indication of any romantic or sexual interest in him. In fact, Toby often acts with his sexuality, even when doing so may be inappropriate; he deals with difficulties the only way he knows.
The movie shows its melodramatic roots after Calvin drops the pair off at Bree's parents' home. Bree's parents, especially her mother (played to shellacked perfection by Fionnula Flanagan), do not accept her lifestyle, but her younger sister, who's dysfunctional in her own way, is more sympathetic. After a few painful scenes of family drama and hysterics, the family reconciles, but only long enough for Toby to flee.
With Toby gone, Bree makes it to Los Angeles for her operation. Afterward, she confides to her therapist that her heart "hurts". She may be talking about an unexpected feeling of loss following the operation, or the fact that she became close to her son despite initially wanting nothing to do with him. The statement is ambiguous, maybe because Bree herself is not sure of its source.
Given its many issues, the most problematic thing about Transamerica is that Bree isn't developed enough for a main character, and thus, she never rises above the ho-hum plot. Her little quirks don't make her interesting, though Huffman does a good job for such a scant part. One thing I still cannot decide is whether Transamerica should be criticised for being unadventurous and sticking to clichés, or if it ought to be commended because the protagonist is unremarkable, and thus, not 'different' from her non-gender-bending counterparts. In other words, is a conservative transsexual protagonist in a conventional film the sign of a gimmick, or progress?
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Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
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Techbreak
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I thought it was great, especially looking at it as a comedy with a darker edge, a fantastically portrayed central character and some subtle observations and fresh representations.
I thought Huffman's willingness to act 'ugly', especially as she had just hit mainstream, said something about her integrity as an actor. I was wailing along with her in the scene after her operation, her despair came across as so genuine.
I thought Bree's interaction with her son was anything but hackneyed, and that you have pinpointed one of the main reasons why - the way they deal with each other and their own problems, and the way the sexuality of both son and father comes into play through the feminine.
I thought it was an interesting movie - but then I am often interested by portrayals of transgender in film (something I have been putting together for a post myself) and I think this film is worthy of mention.
Well chosen pics!
Michaelie
Comment by Irene
Women In Cinema
Grammar Matters
Comment by Irene
Women In Cinema
Grammar Matters
The main problems I had with it were the cliched road trip/dysfunctional family storylines and the lack of character development for Bree (IMHO anyway). I did also think the relationship between Bree and Toby should have been the main focus of the trip. The meanderings into other territory really irritated me, even though I like Graham Greene and Fionnula Flanagan.
The post-op scene had me crying too.