Transamerica

I was somewhat underwhelmed by "Transamerica," which we just saw down the street at the Main. I admired the performance of Felicity Huffman, as "Bree," a pre-op transsexual who is certain she wants to be a woman but not always certain what version of "woman" she wants to put forth to the world. So she acts like a school marm, and she speaks no slang, and she dresses like a tucked-in grandmother, and she seeks out decorum at every turn. Bree tip-toes around, physically and emotionally fragile, worried she might break in two. Huffman's performance is incredible. And yet the story probably relies too heavily on arthouse tropes like the meandering roadtrip, the dysfunctional family, a loathing for "the midwest" (cinematic shorthand: geography stands in for class) and a self-congratulatory attitude toward transgression. But Huffman's achievement goes a long way--the film is well-worth seeing.