Tangerine (2015) (English Language)

Review

88min

Genre:      Comedy, Drama

Director:   Sean Baker

Cast:        Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian…and more

Writers:    Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch

-Synopsis-

A feisty transgender prostitute, aided by her close co-worker friend, goes on an emotional rampage across the gritty streets of Los Angeles as she hunts down her cheating pimp boyfriend and the girl he betrayed her with in this unabashed groundbreaking indie comedy/drama from writer/director Sean Baker.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a film which is more timely and representative of 2015 western culture than ‘Tangerine’, an urban comedy/drama indie filmed entirely on Apple iPhones, featuring a cast of transsexuals and recent immigrants, and starring two transgender women as prostitutes in a series of misadventures on the streets of L.A.

‘Tangerine’ is an unconventional and slightly tragic screwball comedy/drama where the lives of pimps, prostitutes and their clientele are uncomfortably and hilariously thrown together.

Produced by major indie players the Duplass Brothers and written/directed by indie darling Sean Baker, ‘Tangerine’ was filmed on location in a notorious Santa Monica area near Hollywood where pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers ply their trade.

By using basic and accessible technology while casting leads with “experience” in the industry and area, Baker has achieved an ultra- realist view of L.A. that’s seldom seen, and has candidly depicted a subculture that has until now been largely ignored by media, all while crafting an outrageous comedy/drama that consistently walks the line between gritty and sleazy.

Clearly inspired by guerrilla filmmaking and indie heavyweights like John Waters and Jim Jarmusch , director Sean Baker delivers a vibrant and often uncomfortable cinematic experience that’s neither judgemental or sympathetic. Despite a dysfunctional and unexpectedly touching relationship between the two central working girls, clearly reminiscent of ‘Midnight Cowboy’, none of the characters are particularly sympathetic while the men suffer a particularly savage depiction that’s a thinly veiled theme of the movie.

Despite the critical acclaim so far, ‘Tangerine’ may be a divisive film for a larger general audience who may not be ready to deal with such a bold representation of the more marginalised people in modern western society. Although the film is sequential and easy to follow, there is a lot of filler. Expect the now ubiquitous dramatic indie synth-pop and electronic music sequences, in the form of endless overly stylistic purposeful walking scenes, which when removed, would probably make ‘Tangerine’ a 40min short.

The Bottom Line…

Outrageously funny and often uncomfortable to watch if somewhat flawed, ‘Tangerine’ is groundbreaking guerrilla indie filmmaking in both narrative and production, an unflinching look at the lives of the more marginalised in modern society.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

A naive young Texan makes his way to the seedy streets of New York in the hopes of making it big as a Gigolo only to discover the harsh realities of the “Big Apple”, but things get moving when he forms an alliance with a sleazy hustler which evolves into an unlikely and surprisingly touching friendship in this Oscar-winning classic from John Schlesinger.

Directed by John Schlesinger and starring Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman and Sylvia Miles among others.

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