Tangerine
There’s a lot I could say about this movie in general, but it’s a tricky one to talk about in relation to the representation of women. The women in this movie make a lot of morally questionable decisions, and it’s hard to really like any of them very much.
This film is a day in the life of two trans sex workers who live in LA. One of them has just been released from prison, and she finds out that her fiancé has cheated on her while she’s been locked up. So she goes on a mission to find him and the girl he’s apparently been shacked up with, to essentially lay into the two of them.
In the end [SPOILERS] we find out that her best friend, who told her about the cheating, hooked up with her fiancé as well and conveniently left that information out. So yeah, neither of these women are glowing examples of how women should support each other.
What this movie does do though is tell the realistic story of two trans women of colour who are also sex workers, making their way in the world and showing what their lives are like on a day to day basis. And that’s what I think is important about this film. It gives a glimpse into the lives of these women, and other women also. We also get to see a bit of the story of the woman who cheated with the fiancé in the first place, and beyond that, even the lives of two Armenian women who are completely reliant on the ‘man of the house’, who is going out and spending his money on sex workers without their knowledge.
This movie is kind of bleak (but not depressing), because it does show the reality of what a life like this is like. It all shows the ups and downs of being a full service sex worker in a city where it’s illegal and they risk being arrested on a daily basis. There are so many interesting and important elements of this film, and I think the script shows an incredibly authentic picture of what these women are going through.
I think if this story sounds interesting to you, you should watch it, because it’s important to acknowledge the unique struggles faced by women like the ones depicted in this film. They are the marginalised of the marginalised, but they work hard and hustle to make their way in the world, and in the end, they support each other and lift each other up, even through the hard shit.
Tangerine is not currently available to stream anywhere in Australia or the UK, but is available to stream on kanopy in the US through your local library’s login. It’s available to rent or buy everywhere on YouTube or Google Play, and is also available to rent or buy in the US and UK on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
