Transamerica

I had some mixed feelings about Transamerica. On one hand it's a very solid film. On the other it seems off in several moments, and many of the characters were sort of two dimensional.

Transamerica stars Felicity Huffman as Bree, a pre-op trans woman. Her performance is excellent. She conveys a range of emotions, such as fear, hope, and insecurity, with an awkward dignity that makes her a real, full character. Some of the fussy mannerisms seemed like an odd choice to me. Bree's chosen style of womanhood seemed old fashioned and caricature-ish, but it created a tension that was important to the film.

The narrative centers around Bree connecting to a son she never knew she had. He is a sullen fuck up and lost soul, and although there was a lot of potential there, I felt this character was thinly drawn. As was Bree's family members. Particularly her mother who was monstrous in an unreal way that seemed almost cartoonish.

It's sounding like I didn't like Transamerica, but I did. Felicity Huffman was amazing, there were some great scenes, and it's an interesting (if contrived) story.