Review of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) by Sarah E — 03 Feb 2011

Love is the result of a punishment inflicted by frightened Gods, according to Hedwig, who considers the events of Plato's Symposium to be a historical account instead of a mythological narrative. Long ago, there were three sexes, because humans were actually sewn up together like conjoined twins: one was two men glued up back-to-back, the other two women, and the last a man and a woman. But the Gods grew frightened of humans, so Zeus slashed them in two and forced them to walk the world alone. Love became the means of putting ourselves back together with our missing half, but while Hedwig is convinced there's only one person she's meant to be with, she's uncertain whether it's a he or a she, mostly because in terms of sex, it's uncertain whether Hedwig is a he or a she. Does her gender identity determine what sex she's supposed to be with, or did her sex pre-botched-sex-change-operation dictate that? The jury's out.

The best review I've read for this movie is from Roger Ebert, who writes that many musicals sing of love, but only Hedwig really has something to say about love. I agree with all my heart on this one. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is an exploration of love, sex, and gender, how the three work together and how the three tear each other apart. What is natural and what is learned? John Cameron Mitchell's performance and direction are so touching, evocative, and moving, that even though the movie traverses bravely into camp territory, it never loses touch with reality. Here's a (wo)man who searches for love but always seems to look in the wrong places. The question then becomes where Hedwig should be looking, but that's a can of worms the movie quite intelligently never offers a concise conclusion for. "The Origin of Love", quite possibly the most intelligent love song ever performed, concludes with the discovery of love making, but who is that other body the narrator is singing to? Hedwig would say it was her other half, the body she was torn from following Zeus's wrath, but it's never specified who that body is. All the viewer can do is hope that Hedwig finds what she is looking for.

This is bar none one of my favourite films. It's smart, moving, and wise beyond its years. It has some of the best performances ever in a musical. It raises some deep questions about the nature of love and offers everything but a single answer, which is exactly what a movie about love should be.