HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2000) / *** 1/2
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell. Screenplay by Mitchell, based on the play written by Mitchell with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. Starring Mitchell, Michael Pitt, Miriam Shor. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on October 14th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: An East German homosexual named Hansel (Mitchell) falls in love with an American army sergeant. In order to cross the Berlin Wall and marry him, Hansel endures a sex change operation; but the procedure is botched, leaving him with a one-inch reminder of his true gender. Calling himself Hedwig, Hansel goes to America where, after divorcing hir husband, s/he begins a songwriting career. But when Hedwig's new boyfriend (Pitt) steals all hir songs and becomes famous, Hedwig starts a band of hir own and sets out in pursuit across the country.
Review: "Hedwig And The Angry Inch" is a kinetic, outrageous, enormously entertaining rock musical, a rare example of a genre which has all but vanished. But this is also a compelling exploration of gender. Hedwig is a transsexual, but more out of necessity than desire; the film chronicles hir acceptance of hir sex, embodied by the "angry inch" left between hir legs. Performances are fine across the board, including Mitchell in the challenging title role, able to maintain a campy, over-the-top persona without losing the audience's interest or sympathy. Also very good are Pitt as Hedwig's ex-lover-turned-rock-star and Shor as a band member whose relationship with Hedwig is never really defined and doesn't need to be. Mitchell's script has plenty of off-kilter laughs, and sensibly the film encompasses more humour than just jokes of a sexual nature; a look back to Hedwig's dysfunctional childhood (including days spent playing in the oven) is hilarious. Mitchell's offbeat direction compliments the story nicely: part-drama, part-documentary, part-music video, part-undefinable (including some amusing breaking of the fourth wall, as when Hedwig and his band invites the audience to sing along to a song). Also not to be missed is the movie's inspired soundtrack, mostly written by Stephen Trask, incorporating everything from punk rock to neo-country.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 29833 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 255308 X-RT-TitleID: 1109197 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4
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