{"id":2377,"date":"2015-12-17T21:37:32","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T02:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=2377"},"modified":"2024-09-22T18:34:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T22:34:06","slug":"tangerine-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=2377","title":{"rendered":"Tangerine-2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tangerine-2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Sean Baker<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Mya Taylor, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, James Ransone<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #301<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80037676\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed December 17, 2015<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the rare occasion that I am lucky and privileged enough to stumble upon a gem like Tangerine (2015), it reaffirms my faith in film and creative filmmakers in general.<\/p>\n

Here is a universal lesson- it does not require oodles of money to make a great film. This film was shot with three smartphones!!<\/p>\n

It takes talent and creativity.<\/p>\n

Tangerine is a groundbreaking film- the first (that I am aware of anyway) to feature transgender actresses at the forefront of the feature.<\/p>\n

The film has been honored with multiple Independent Spirit Award nominations.<\/p>\n

Shot documentary style, with grittiness and a frenetic pace, while mixing in unique styles of music (hip hop to classic) as the musical score (a child-like tune begins the film), Tangerine is unique from both a story perspective and a visual style.<\/p>\n

The film’s first scene begins with two transgender sex workers- Sin-Dee Rella and Alexandra, having a conversation in a coffee shop. Sin-Dee has just been released from jail and learns that her boyfriend, and pimp, Chester (James Ransone)<\/span>, has been cheating on her.<\/p>\n

It is Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

The film explores Sin-Dee’s rage and subsequent search all over Los Angeles for Chester, and the girl he has been with. She vows revenge on them both.<\/p>\n

However, beyond this story point, the heart of the film is of loneliness and isolation that most of the characters (trans and otherwise), share, in one form or another.<\/p>\n

Interspersed with the Sin-Dee story, are stories involving Alexandra’s feud with a “john”, and her pursuit of a singing career.<\/p>\n

Another interesting story is that of a straight male, Razmik, an Armenian cab driver who is enamored with transgender sex workers.<\/p>\n

This may sound bizarre or too out there for some, but Razmik’s story is quite tender and compelling. He has a wife, child, and other relatives and is the breadwinner. He is also very conflicted. He does not “use” the sex workers, but rather cares for them and admires them.<\/p>\n

I found all three principal characters interesting in different ways- Sin-Dee and Alex are over-the-top, yet sensitive. While Sin-Dee is aggressive and vengeful, Alex is the kinder of the two and the more sensible and rational.<\/p>\n

She is a sex worker but aspires for more out of life. Razmik is even more interesting- does he have a fetish? Is he shameful for spending money on prostitutes while supporting a wife and child?<\/p>\n

All of the characters are victimized in one form or another and all are dysfunctional- at the same time, they are all weirdly likable.<\/p>\n

I witnessed moments of Quentin Tarantino’s film style coming across the screen- most notably in the coffee-shop scenes (the beginning and final scenes) as all hell breaks loose, and the characters delve into all sorts of crazy behavior.<\/p>\n

Tangerine is a sweet tale about friendship too.<\/p>\n

It is a memorable and powerful film experience.<\/p>\n

In the end, all the characters are hurting, living such sad lives, especially since the time is present-day Christmas Eve, which might make this film sound depressing, but it is not.<\/p>\n

I found it almost uplifting in a way.<\/p>\n

Tangerine (2015) is a completely original, groundbreaking film that I hope will be remembered and appreciated fifty years from now.<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-<\/strong>Best Feature, Best Director-Sean Baker, Best Female Lead-Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Best Supporting Female-Mya Taylor (won)<\/strong>, Piaget Producers Award<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tangerine-2015 Director Sean Baker Starring Mya Taylor, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, James Ransone Scott’s Review #301 Reviewed December 17, 2015 Grade: A On the rare occasion that I am lucky and privileged enough to stumble upon a gem like Tangerine (2015), it reaffirms my faith in film and creative filmmakers in general. Here is a universal … Continue reading Tangerine-2015<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,192,41,211,5534,5532,339,122,5533,5531],"tags":[241,193,73,212,5538,5536,123,340,5537,5535],"class_list":["post-2377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-movie-reviews","category-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-dramas","category-james-ransone","category-kitana-kiki-rodriguez","category-lgbt-dramas","category-gay-films","category-mya-taylor","category-sean-baker","tag-2015-movie-reviews","tag-dramas-2","tag-independent-films","tag-indie-dramas","tag-james-ransone","tag-kitana-kiki-rodriguez","tag-gaylesbian-films","tag-lgbt-dramas","tag-mya-taylor","tag-sean-baker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2377"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20565,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions\/20565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}