Dir Sean Baker
Tangerine: complex and compelling
Causing a buzz at Sundance because of its shoe-string origins (it was shot on an iPhone 5s) and its use of trans actresses, Tangerine is not your average Christmas movie. Strutting through the LA sunshine, its leads Kitana “Kiki” Rodriguez (playing working girl Sin-Dee) and Mya Taylor (Alexandra) have a femmey swagger that’s made for the camera, and while there’s some slightly ropey acting early on, the duo’s quest – to find the cis sex-worker messing with Sin-Dee’s man – becomes increasingly complex and compelling. The film digs deep into a realistically difficult world, and there’s a satisfying, if bleak, ending.