Transamerica (2005)

“My body may be a work-in-progress, but there is nothing wrong with my soul.” – Bree Osbourne

Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 Sep 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A transgender woman, days before her sex change operation discovers that she fathered a son across the country and must deal with this news before she has her surgery.

My Take on it – This is a movie that I’ve been interested in seeing for years yet never got around to seeing it until now.

The story takes a hard look at the idea of identity, both from the perspective of how people perceive others as well as how they perceive themselves.

This film takes the premise to far reaches and shows how different people deal with issues of identity in very different ways.

Felicity Huffman is superb in the lead role and manages to make us believe that she is playing a man in the process of becoming a woman in ways that are indescribable.

She was quite deserving of receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for this performance which is truly breathtaking throughout.

They tell this story is quite an intriguing way and we easily can understand the various complexities that people in these situations must face especially when it comes to acceptance by loved ones while trying to come to terms with their own identity.

She clearly carries this film with her performance and helps make things so intriguing to watch unfold.

She has great chemistry with her co-star Kevin Zegers and it’s easy to believe the situations that they get themselves into over the course of their shares cross country journey.

This is a great road trip film that lets the characters take a journey, both physically and philosophically and is much better than pone would expect it to be.

Bottom Line – Really fascinating look at identity and how people can deal with it. Huffman is superb in the title role and plays this character to perfection. There is no question about the fact that she deserved her Oscar nomination for Best Actress for this performance. The story is told in an intriguing way and they allow us to get an idea of the various complexities facing people in these kind of situations where they must struggle with coming to grips with their own identities. Huffman carries this film the whole way and that has much to do with the way that she portrays this character. Her chemistry with costar Zegers is great and the banter between them works so well. This is a road trip film that allows the characters to take a journey of discovery and works much better than one could expect. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Felicity Huffman had to stay in character all day, while shooting. This included having to keep Bree’s voice on so that she wouldn’t lose it. If she turned it “off” she would lose the voice. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)