[yasr_overall_rating]
Tangerine is the quintessential independent film. Shot entirely on an iPhone, director Sean Baker goes where few mainstream movies dare and provides a touching and often funny portrait of two trans women during a day in Los Angeles.
Tangerine is daring at the start. Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) has just left prison after a month-long sentence and sits down for a conversation with her best friend, Alexandra (Mya Taylor). Both are sex workers and Sin-Dee is crushed to learn that her pimp Chester (James Ransone) is cheating on her with another woman. She storms out of Donut Time and spends the rest of her Christmas Eve looking for Chester.
After getting us comfortable with Alexandra and Sin-Dee’s story, we are introduced to Razmik (Karren Karagulian), an Armenian taxi driver. At first, it’s not clear why we are shown how his day goes, with progressively more annoying passengers. But when he meets up with Alexandra, it’s clear that he tries to help them.
While Baker’s decision to film the movie with iPhones is quite extraordinary in itself, his story is gutsy too. Tangerine is an intimate portrait of these two women, who have struggled for acceptance, even among themselves. While the friendship between Alexandra and Sin-Dee is the bond that holds the movie together, the conflict between them is as much a part of it as the anger Sin-Dee feels towards Chester. Alexandra tries to stay above the fray, but Sin-Dee rushes headfirst into it. Both of them share similarities when their buttons are pushed. But the film still takes several obvious turns as it progresses, as if the Christmas Eve setting holds Baker back from taking even more risks.
The cast is still extraordinary. Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez might have had no major acting experience before making this film, but their performances are incredibly natural and heartbreaking. They both do so much with body language that words are often unnecessary.
Technically, Tangerine looks beautiful. Baker and co-cinematographer Radium Cheung did a wonderful job of capturing Los Angeles, taking the audience to street level. Had the iPhone “gimmick” not been reported, it would be hard to tell that it was shot on a smartphone. Obviously, the post-production editing helped it look much better than an amateur's work, but it’s still remarkable to know that anyone has the power to make a film like this if they really put their mind to it.
Tangerine might sound like a serious film, but it has its lighter moments and could easily be considered a comedy. Perhaps this is why it has earned acclaim at festivals, as this could have been some serious exploration into trans sex workers and trying to make a point. Tangerine doesn’t push any message in your face, instead focusing on its straightforward plot. However, that in itself is why Tangerine is successful, since its filmmakers had the faith that any drama can be told with all types of characters.
Tangerine is now available to stream on Netflix.