The
2015 Tangerine comedy-drama film was
directed by Sean Baker and was written by Baker and Chris Bergoch which
featured Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, and James Ransome. The plot of the
film focuses on a transgender sex worker, Sin-Dee Rella who has been released from his 28 days prison
sentence and has joined the outside world. The movie goes on indicating the
daily encounters of the sex workers on a Christmas Eve. The movie is among the
few that have focused on the transgender community illustrating the challenges
that they undergo in their businesses. To achieve its uniqueness and
originality of the idea, Baker has employed several form aspects that make the
movie outstanding. The use of the real sex worker characters and the
utilization of cheap videography techniques have profoundly contributed to its
uniqueness. Effective characterizations
and the dramatic encounters by the characters in their usual environment make
the movie’s theme to be communicated effectively. The background music played
in the movie contributes to the mood that the audience experiences along with
the encounters of Sin-Dee. Sean Baker has effectively utilized these form
aspects in achieving originality and uniqueness of the movie which makes it
outstanding as a comedy-drama movie.
The
low budget filmography indicates a highly saturated color editing filled with
purple and orange hues accompanied with shoddy Instagram filters indicating
that probably this is where the movie got its name Tangerine. The images
produced indicate a widescreen anamorphic attachment that the photographer has
in the shots that he takes. In the first scene the two characters, Alexandra
and Sin-Dee appear to be highly saturated in color a concept which may make one
think they were characters in a Technicolor musical. The colors and its
presentation have been employed simplistically to present social issues of
intense magnitude. The saturation of the colors presents the lack of
seriousness which complements the actions of the actors. They are presented in
their usual ways, how they relate and interact with each other in a normal
manner without the idea of filmography in the mind of the actors. In this
manner, they can present themselves and act their roles effectively. Besides,
Baker has indicated and given hope to other film producers on the need to give
their best within their limited budgets. The film was ranked among the best
despite the components and casting of the film.
Also, others may argue that this is the next level of film production.
It propagates the miniaturization idea and combination of several aspects of
movie production into one item such as the iPhone used in the creation of the
movie. We should not be surprised to see more of such films; Baker may have set
the pace for the next generation of filmography.
The
employment of originality in the casting of the movie and the way the movie
brings out concepts different from the usual manner makes the movie outstanding
from the other Hollywood movies. One such instance is when the cab driver, an
Armenian Razmik who is married and has a child frequents the location of the
prostitutes. In one of the most revealing scenes he picks up a sex worker who
he believes is of his type. He carries her in the car and tries to induce her
into sex. He realizes that she is a lady and decides to kick her out of his
car. Razmik has his specific taste and
can’t settle for anything less yet he has a wife and a kid. This depiction of
the unexpected or the different definition of normalcy is what makes the film
unique and original without borrowing concepts from the Hollywood movies. The
characters in the movie are ever walking, taking long walks. The shots are taken systematically as every
section of the movie the people are always walking. These are rare cases that take
place especially when people are drunk or when they are late to catch a bus,
but then they can take a cab. Typically, in the Hollywood movies, the
characters could be using some vehicles or other high-end means of transport in
Los Angeles. These shots make the movie have its original feel different from
what the audience is used to. Alexandra
keeps watch over his friend Sin-Dee and always checks out on his progress of
searching for the lady who is cheating with his fiancé. Alexandra also
struggles with the hustles of LA; he hands out posters and flyers about his
performance in a nightclub on the Christmas Eve. The turnout for the event is
meager, and at some point, Alexandra argues with a client who refuses to pay.
Its Christmas Eve and we expect people to turn up for the night show, but they
fail to turn up, Razmik and Sin-Dee, close friends of Alexandra turn up for the
event late. These are among the people who should have been there for
Alexandra, and their absence contributes to the uniqueness of the plot.
The
music that is played in the background when Sin Dee sets out on a mission of
vengeance pumps up the mood and sets an exhilarating opening of the movie. At
the Donut Corner in Santa Monica Boulevard, Sin-Dee Rella meets Alexandra who
mentions to him about the infidelities of his boyfriend, Chester. Agitated by
this fact Sin-Dee goes around looking for the white fish who is involved with
his fiancé. Sin-Dee knows the block that she lives but has no idea about her
identity except for the fact that the name start with a D, he is not sure
whether it’s Danielle, Desiree, or Dee-Dee.
During this pursuit, Sean Baker introduces a background music that
raises the moods of the audience amidst the confusion that Sin-Dee has to deal
with in search of the woman who is cheating with his fiancé. It sets the mood
of seriousness in the way Sin-Dee is looking up for the woman.
The
dramatic encounters in the lives of the characters have also played a great
role towards bringing authenticity and uniqueness to the film. When watching the first scene of the movie,
it's easy to identify the energy and the humor that takes place in the
conversation between Alexandra and Sin-Dee. In another instance, Alexandra has been identified as the one
who will go further especially in the pursuit of his payment when John denies
to pay him, he says, "You forget I got a d—, too." This comes out
funny, but essentially it emphasizes on how far he could not withstand anybody
interfering with his business. Sin-Dee finally finds Dinah who has been cheating
with Chester. He finds her in an overcrowded brothel and pulls her out dragging
her along by her hair. The way Sin-Dee takes out Dinah is theatrical raising
the attention of the onlookers in the brothel. He uses the word bitch which is
uncommon among them. These scenes present half the Hollywood concept of the
regular fights among women, but the fact that the argument is between them
makes it unique and giving it a different appeal to the audience. The other
interesting character is Razmik who struggles to maintain life as a respectable
family man going out about his businesses as a cab driver. He is struggling to
hide his other side of life and it becomes interesting in the dramatic
encounter when the mother-in-law follows him to the club. Razmik’s mother-in-law
calls the wife of Razmik who comes along with their daughter (literally the
entire family comes to witness). The scene turns out dramatic as the wife
confronts Razmik in the presence of his friends. The argument becomes so
intense until the shop owner calls for the police. Finally, they calm down, and
Razmik and his family go back to their apartment.
The movie presents pressing social issues in a
very dramatic and in a light-hearted manner. Baker has gone further to explore
the concept of transgender in the streets and how their life goes on in the
streets. Through the movie, we can understand the culture of this community and
feel them in their natural environment. Baker uses the real actors to break and
bring out the issue of color which is often considered shameful among people of
color and the several barriers that they face in their lives in the transgender
culture. The type of friendship ties that the characters form throughout the movie
is limited to people who they share the same values. We rarely see the
characters interact with other community members except those that belong to
the same transgender. Evidently, they
are looked down upon in the community.
John thinks that Alexandra does not deserve to be paid despite the
services he has received from her. The police who show up at the shop also does
not treat them as the other people in society. It's these types of
mistreatments that let the audience get into the lives of the sex workers. The
movie enlightens on several issues around the lives of this community which we
often overlook.
Conclusion
Sean Bakers filmography coupled with some other
aspects have made the film Tangerine
a delightful comedy full of drama. The setting of the film sets out uniqueness
to the audience who are used to the Hollywood movies. The use of the low budget
filmography on a mere iPhone 5S communicates a lot about the level of the next
generation of film technologies. Besides, the employment of highly saturated
colors and a mixture of colors gives the movie its outline title Tangerine. The music played in the background
contributes to the mood that the audience feels along as the film advances in
the search for lady D. The dramatic encounters of the characters make the movie
exciting and achieve its unique and originality feel. The fact that the
characters are transgender sets the pace out of normalcy making the audience
more enthusiastic in watching the movie. Also, the movie presents serious
social issues in a light-hearted manner to provide a free environment for the
actors to act with their freedom and bring out reality effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment