"Transamerica" certainly doesn't break a whole lot of new ground when it comes to story structure and narrative line. In fact, we've seen this story a thousand times before: An estranged duet of people, in this case father and son, who barely know each other and don't really like each other, go on a road trip, discover that they have a lot to offer each other and end up learning valuable life lessons. There's nothing new in this. It's a pretty standard storytelling device that has pretty much become a genre unto itself. But there is one wildly original idea here that makes "Transamerica" rise far above the other films in this niche: The father is a traansgendered male on the verge of having his sex change operation. And there is one other wildly unique idea at play: The man becoming a woman is played by a female actress, Felicity Huffman, who give the performance of her career.

Huffman is amazing here. And in a year where there have been some outstanding performances by actresses in American films, Huffman seems a shoe-in come Oscar time. This is not simply because she plays a man becoming a female. In fact, Huffman could have played the role as a male or a female and won nearly as many accolades. Her performance is simply that riveting. She owns this film. She makes this film a tour de force of gut-wrenching, heart-twisting, emotions that draw the viewer deep into the story and make us care immensely about what happens here.

To be sure, she is aided in her endeavors by an amazing supporting cast. One should not dismiss the work of Kevin Zegers as his/her estranged son. Hunky and beautiful to be sure, Zegers also delivers a performance that is as beautiful and wondrous as Huffman's is. In Zegers' Toby, we find a wounded fawn, a young man full of love and possibilities that, had he not met Huffman's Bree, could have become hardened, angry, withdrawn and intoxicated with drugs. Zegers is not only bold in showing his gorgeous young body here, he's also bold in opening himself up to all the possibilities the script has in mind for his character's emotional growth. This is an outstanding performance and one that, nearly as much as Huffman's, draws us deeply into the film.

There are other wonderful performances in the film as well, particularly from Graham Greene, who adapts the Jason London role from "To Wong Foo"into a much older character here. Greene gives the film as much heart as his character gives Huffman's Bree hope. Kudos too should be given to Burt Young, Elizabeth Pena, and Fionnula Flanagan for hoping into this film with such obvious glee and love for the story. Flanagan is stuck in a standard and typical screaming mother role but she overplays it with such aplomb that she nearly reinvents the character. And lets not forget Grant Monohon as the hitchhiker who bares his beautiful young body for the good of the film. Wow!

Writer/Director Duncan Tucker hits every note perfectly here. He conducts this film with the skill and finesse of a filmmaker who has helmed a thousand films. He does the impossible. He provides a film for gay and transgendered people that is not offensive or unrealistic while also providing a story that anyone, regardless of background and sexual orientation, can become deeply involved in. This may be one of the few Hollywood films to deal with transgender issues since "Boys Don't Cry" but it is also a wonderful and lovely successor to that film. There is heart here and drama, like the Hilary Swank film, but there is also humor and acceptance and love. It's hard to imagine one could hope for anything more from any film but to achieve this with a transgendered lead and a bisexual hustler as a secondary character is revolutionary.

Note:

"Lord of the Rings" is mentioned in a humorous way.

The film debuted at Berlin and screened at the Deauville and Tribecca Film Festivals. It opens in December of 2005 in the U.S.

Viewed at the Paramount Theater during AFF in October of 2005. AFF Film Programmer Phil Scanlan came out and introduced Duncan Tucker, the writer director of "Transamerica" who greeted the audience from the stage at the Paramount holding a glass of scotch. He thanks all of us for skipping the Astros World Series game to come to his film. He told us he would be back for a Q&A afterwards and mentioned that when he got funding for the film, he approached Felicity Huffman who agreed to do the film, "After I shoot this pilot." That, of course, became "Desperate Housewives."

During the Q&A, Tucker told us that William H. Macy, who is listed as an Executive Producer and who is married to Huffman, saw the film and wanted to do anything he could to help get it seen. He invited Harvey Weinstein to the Tribecca Film Festival screening and got him to attend. Weinstein picked up the film for his new label, Weinstein Films, and it became the first new film they had acquired rather than produced in quite some time.

He also told us the film was shot on Super 16 with all the shots being handheld. When asked why he cast a woman in the role of a male on the verge of having a sex change to female, Tucker replied, "I wanted to honor where Bree was going and not leave her behind."

Report Card

Script: A+

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: B+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: C+

Final Grade: A+