I have never understood why anybody (outside of professionals in the biz) would care how a movie was shot or how much it cost. What matters is what’s up there on screen, yes? Kudos to low-budget geniuses who work magic on a shoestring, but what does that have to do with how we watch the movie?
So the word that director Sean Baker shot “Tangerine” entirely with iPhones may be worth a chummy “Cool story, bro,” but it’s not exactly news that anybody with a device can make a movie.
More important is that “Tangerine” bristles with zany energy and unexpected humor, and that Baker has a fine eye for dynamic, on-the-fly angles in fast-food joints and inner-city streets.
In a rough Los Angeles neighborhood, a transgender prostitute named Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) shares a donut with her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) on Christmas Eve morning. Alexandra lets slip that Sin-Dee’s boyfriend-pimp Chester (James Ransone, excellent) has been messing around with someone else during Sin-Dee’s just-completed month in jail.
This leads to Sin-Dee’s daylong search for the other woman; nobody can remember her name exactly, it begins with a D — Destry? Desiree? Anyway, Mickey O’Hagan plays the role like Laraine Newman drained of blood.
Meanwhile, an Armenian cab driver, Razmik (Karren Karagulian), will soon hook up with the central odyssey. The film has uproarious moments, a few poignant ones, and some grubby references to the industry of sex.
That’s where “Tangerine” (like “A Clockwork Orange,” there’s no explanation of the citrusy title) steers into its diciest territory. If Baker’s goal was to humanize people who aren’t often represented in movies by creating a performance-driven piece of slapstick, he has succeeded.
On the other hand, we might legitimately feel queasy about the sunny depiction of a world that contains much real-life misery.
What tips the scales in justifying the movie’s screwball-comedy approach is the sheer human vitality of the people on screen, especially Rodriguez and Taylor. They come on like hectic refugees from Andy Warhol’s Factory, all-consumed by the theater of their own lives, defined but not limited by their transgender status.
Five minutes after the movies starts, with Sin-Dee in full rampage, the more reflective Alexandra looks on and says, “This is too much drama.” She doesn’t actually believe that — this is all part of the performance, and without the performance, these formidable ladies would be just like anybody else.
“Tangerine” (3 stars)
An unexpected screwball comedy set in the seamy side of L.A., where transgender prostitutes settle some issues on Christmas Eve. Director Sean Baker skims over some of the misery in that world, but the movie’s performers and energy are impressive.
Rating: R, for nudity, language, subject matter
Showing: Egyptian theater
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