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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 18, 2006 In Review | Transamerica by Tidings reviewer Chris Honore Huffman shines as a conflicted personality For all of our society’s liberal attitudes (some might call them libertine), for all of our acceptance of casual dress, harsh language, public displays of affection, premarital sex and pregnancy, for all of our efforts at overcoming racial and ethnic tensions, there are still areas of tolerance and approbation yet to be achieved. We still bridle at the thought of gays marrying, declaring adamantly the institution of marriage to be exclusively for men and women. We withhold from gays all the legal rights appurtenant to marriage and have passed statues in numerous states banning same sex marriage. So imagine the philosophical and emotional leap required by our society to accept those who identify themselves as transgender (men or women trapped in the body of the opposite sex), and wish to surgically change what they regard as a mistake of biology. It’s a wide and deep chasm that must be crossed. “Transamerica” constructs a bridge across that divide, powerfully and with an abiding humanity that is touching and compelling. Its final appeal is to that part of ourselves that rejects judgment, stereotypes and understands that the human condition is kaleidoscopic, a vast continuum, and all must find that place that, in a word, feels “right.” Felicity Huffman, who carries the film from its first frame, gives a remarkable performance as Sabrina, a transsexual male. Once called Stanley, Bri, as she’s called, for all of her caution, her careful rigidity, is in the process of taking the final step in her transformative journey: she is on the cusp of having a transgender operation. With immense courage and an iron will, she takes step after agonizing step toward the final metamorphosis that will allow her to leave her past behind and be Bri, that person she knows she has always been. Keep in mind that Huffman is playing a man who is playing a woman, and she manages to portray these two characters simultaneously with humor, seriousness and pathos. It is testimony to her talent that her carefully made-up face can convey the effort and the pain required to sustain her decision and not yield. Sabrina, both terrified and assertive, seeks surcease in a straight-laced articulateness, holding herself ever erect with such containment that she must be exhausted at the end of every day. Huffman is remarkable. “Transamerica,” though rough at the edges, reminds us that we all grapple with the existential question of who we are and what it is that defines us. All of life is about identity, about finding ways to be and work and live that express our deepest and most authentic selves. The loss of self, the abandonment or even betrayal of self, is a theme that threads through much of literature and film. No matter that Sabrina is Stanley; no matter that she knows and fears and gasps at the thought of confronting a society that is fully prepared to declare her a freak. The nexus of her life, at this moment, is that she feels that she has no choice but to summon the courage and the will to become who she is. She won’t and can’t retreat. All she can be is brave. The wonder of the film and the portrayal by Huffman is that “Transamerica” never slips into camp; rather, the humanity of Sabrina is ever present, multidimensional, and gives the narrative its tone and texture. This is a startling, fine movie, unsettling to be sure, but one not to be missed. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams