Review: Tangerine

Directed by: Sean Baker

Written by: Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch

Starring: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O’Hagan, Alla Tumanian

Rating: [4/5]

Everyone has a bad day, one where nothing really goes well and you just want it to end in hope the next day washes away all of the nonsense. Something presented in the lively and hilarious Tangerine as we follow two women having quite day, which happens to revolve around a wild Christmas Eve in Los Angeles. 

Fresh out of jail following a 28-day stint, Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) reconnects with her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor). In search of her boyfriend, Sin-Dee learns from Alexandra that her boyfriend has cheated on her, which sets her on a quest to find her boyfriend and the other woman for a messy confrontation.

Stories centered on transgender folks in larger media come drenched with the tragedy and the sadness surrounding their lives as their stories begin to gain more prominence. Similar to when gay and lesbian stories initially cracked into the mainstream their pain needed to be displayed prior to giving them stories of just normally living their lives like anyone else. Tangerine, exists on the periphery as an independent film allowing this story not to be centered on trans rights and struggle to exist, but rather these two trans women just living their messy lives and all that comes with it. Therefore, we get two characters both trying to make things happen in different areas all making for quite the ride. 

With both Din-See and Alexandra working as trans sex workers, they have a specific clientele, typically ones whom they need to take precautions against. They encounter some fine people but could easily find themselves trapped with someone going through some conflicting things. In various scenes, we see these women engage in different aspects of their job providing the services their clients want, which typically does not get displayed when it comes to this type of sex worker. It gives us a look behind the curtain and adds to what these women deal with on a daily basis. 

However, all of the fun this feature displays comes from the drama and how Sin-Dee does not care who she deals with because she needs some answers. Alexandra even asks her straight up to please not engage in drama, but she knows her friend well and things will certainly go array. On this journey to get to Sin-Dee’s boyfriend and pimp, Chester (James Ransone), these two find themselves in wild and awkward situations. Engagements they take on fairly well, which may simply summarize the types of situations they typically find themselves in. 

The way Sean Baker captures it all in this frantic style adds to the urgency of how these characters feel, particularly Sin-Dee. She moves quickly and with a purpose as she navigates the streets of Los Angeles, which certainly feels like a character as these characters progress. The various characters and others just getting in their way must sum up with Los Angeles experience, at least where Sin-Dee and Alexandra hang around. The camera zooms in at the right moments and lacks a refinement that begins excitement making it feel very independent and guerilla in a sense. 

Through everything these women undergo, their friendship keeps everything together in such a heartwarming way. They knew each other very well and the connection they build through this feature along with the drama they have between themselves does bring a shining light throughout this feature. If skeletons exist in each of their closets, they would know all about it making for some hilarious bits of dialogue between them. Operating completely comfortable in their own skin, their combined attitude adds such humor to their story as they unapologetically let their personalities shine and remain unafraid of what others think of them and the mess they make around everyone else. It speaks well of the performances put on by both Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor in the way they take a role meant for them and manage to take it by the horns and make the most of it. Trans individuals rarely have the opportunity to take on roles because of their identity so when something like this becomes available, they ensure to make it count. 

A wonderfully fun time with some hilarious characters, Tangerine shows director Sean Baker in fine form taking us through the streets of Los Angeles as he follows these two women on their Christmas Eve journey. Drama and messiness ensue allowing for the stress of the situation to truly test the resolve and friendship of these two friends. Because of the tremendous performances of the two main leads, we follow two fascinating characters throughout this entire journey. Such a fun tale getting into some intriguing subject matter in moments ensures this feature delivers in spotlighting not the difficulty of being transgender but just a slice of their life on a particular day.