Review of Transamerica (2005) by Elaine F — 24 Oct 2013

"Transamerica" is really the first film to truly focus on the journey of a transsexual, while also dealing with a complex story filled with interesting characters, and on top of that using a frame narrative of a road trip.

The transformation made by the main character not only remains inspiring for the audience, but was also bittersweet when watching the stagnant life built around Bree (Huffman) and what becomes of her in the end of the film.

The characters are also varied and complicated, from her therapist to her biological son (Zegers), who she road trips with from New York to Los Angeles. Bree is a pre-op transsexual who has just found out she has a son by the one girl she had sex with before starting her transformation into a man.

Her son lives a life as a recluse and drug addict in New York City, prostituting himself and dreaming of a day that he can go live with his real father out in Hollywood. Abused and worse for wear Toby (Zegers) meets Bree, who works under the guise of a church patron in order to get Toby to go with her and find him a home before her therapist will sign off for the surgery.

Bree finds herself really living for the first time since her journey began, and by the end she has found something out about herself, as well as found herself able to understand what it is to be a parent and love another person with abject affection.

Felicity Huffman, in the title role, gives one of the most inspired performances of the decade, and really delves into the world of transsexuality, as well as educates through example. Bree is a strong, suitable character for those who want guidance.

Besides this being a prime example of an iconoclastic LGBTQ character, Bree is also a remarkably flawed and interesting character. The entire film works as both an intense voyage into the relationship between an estranged father and son, as well as a coming of age story, as well as a story about the surgery of a transsexual.

It's a rich story that explores a lot of great themes and has a diverse roster of characters, so it's enjoyable as well as introspective, which makes it a great film regardless.