In honor of TRANSGENERATION airing Tuesdays at 10p on Sundance Channel, we wanted to curate a screening list of the best transgender-themed flicks out there. In order to make our list, the films in question had to feature a sympathetic portrayal of a transgendered character in a leading role — hence PSYCHO and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS did not make the cut. No, the following films are all thoughtful, moving depictions of people struggling through life — people who are human first, transgendered second.
10. Orlando (1992)
Of all the films in this Top 10, this is the most figurative interpretation of transexuality: Sally Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name follows the immortal life of a young nobleman in Elizabethan times who, a few centuries later, wakes up one morning as a woman. Deliciously androgynous Tilda Swinton plays the title character and British dandy Quentin Crisp, the “queen of queens,” plays an elderly Queen Elizabeth I. While it wasn’t widely embraced at the time of its release, its visually stunning examination of gender identity earned a theatrical rerelease in 2010 by Sony Pictures Classics.
This HBO film starring powerhouses Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson tells the story of a married man who, after 25 years of marriage, wants to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. It became an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival that year and was nominated for a bunch of Golden Globes and Emmys. According to IMDB, “Tom Wilkinson chose not to do any research into the subject of transgenderism, as he felt that a mid-Western farmer wouldn’t know anything about the subject either.”8. The Crying Game (1992)
While it’s been criticized for reinforcing societal norms rather than challenging them (since we never really get inside the heart and mind of Dil, the transgendered character), THE CRYING GAME made the cut for this list because of its critical acclaim. It was nominated for all the Oscar biggies — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (for Dil’s portrayal), Best Original Screenplay — and won for its script. Kind of a big deal for a movie with a transgendered main character made over 20 years ago, in 1992. Plus, the movie song of the same title was recorded by Boy George, one of the greatest gender-benders of all time.
Neil Jordan, who directed THE CRYING GAME, adapted this novel for the screen and cast Cillian Murphy as Patrick “Kitten” Braden, an Irish transgendered kid coming of age in 1970s London. Also starring Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea (natch), the film was nominated for Golden Globe’s Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and won Best Actor, Best Script and Best Director at The Irish Film & Television Awards.
Single Straight Guy (
Single Gay Guy (
Comment of the Week: Easy Orgasms Are No Joking Matter
May 16th, 2012In an advice column on our site, “I Can Orgasm Easily, What’s Wrong With Me?!” we once made light of the issue of women who climax at the drop of a hat — we told the woman who wrote into us that, basically, she has a gift and should enjoy it. Well, the original post was all the way back in 2009, but for some reason the comments are coming in again. Is three years too long to make a public apology? In response to the commenters: we’re sorry for not seeing both sides of this story. Turns out that, just as there is such a thing as too big when it comes to penises, there is such a thing as too fast and too easy when it comes to female orgasms. Here’s what reader EmJ had to say to us:
Tags: Comments, Orgasms
Posted in Comment of the Week, Confessions | 1 Comment »