Sweet Transvestite

In a cinematic age in which movie musicals have gone the way of ducks in winter (which is to say, south), we have been subjected to several movies that pretend to be musicals (FLASHDANCE anyone?) but which do not deliver the goods. Only Alan Parker, with his vibrant but sadly overlooked film version of Andew Lloyd Webber's EVITA, has attempted a musical with any degree of success in the last decade.

How refreshing it is, then, to come across a film like HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. An adaptation of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's wildly successful Off-Broadway cult smash of the same name, HEDWIG is an evocative and visionary triumph for both cinema and movie musicals in general. Combining elements of such seminal musicals as THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and TOMMY, HEDWIG ups the ante and delivers something fresh, something raw, something mesmerizing.

The film's plot is basically a NATIONAL INQUIRER headline come true. Hedwig (Mitchell) is an East Berlin-born post-operative transsexual on a "world tour," performing in truck stop diners and dingy motel lounges while shadowing the tour of the internationally renowned superstar Tommy Gnosis. Hedwig maintains that it was she who gave Gnosis his last name and co-wrote all of his songs, and has filed a law suit to claim authorship of the material.

It is through several live performances that Hedwig reveals his sometimes funny, sometimes wacky but ultimately moving story of survival, from being a young boy sexually abused by his father to agreeing to have the botched sex-change operation (which has left him with the "angry inch" of flesh of the title) so that he could marry a G.I. who promised to take him to America as his bride. Later, she meets young Tommy Speck (Michael Pitt) and remakes him as Tommy Gnosis, her lover/protogee' who runs off with her songs and takes all the credit for her work.

Mitchell's performance as Hegwig is absolutely stunning. Revealing layer beneath layer of subtle subtext without resorting to stereotypes and pathos, Mitchell inhabits Hedwig with such power and conviction (and, fortunately, vulnerability) that it would be a crime if his performance was not acknowledged with a nomination for Best Actor at next year's Oscars.

The music of the film (and stage play) is also excellent. The songs were originally written by Trask's band Cheater, which was renamed The Angry Inch for the show after Trask teamed up with Mitchell to tell a story through the songs. Combining elements of post-punk (Nirvana, Hole, Pearl Jam) with the thunderous rock-opera tendencies of such shows as HAIR and RENT, Trask's score rocks and ultimately rolls the film along to its magnificent conclusion. (Of particular note are one of the film's early songs, a tender, epic ballad entitled "The Origin of Love," and the marvelous center-piece sing-along "Wig in a Box.") Expect an Oscar nomination for the one song written especially for the film, "In My Arms Tonight." The possibilities for THAT Oscar production number are simply endless!

Also serving as the film's director, Mitchell has wisely lifted HEDWIG from its theatrical limitations and reinvented it as its own cinematic creation. Tossing in great cinematography and even some crudely novel animation, Mitchell elevates the HEDWIG of the stage to Buzzworthy Major Motion Picture status. Thankfully, Mitchell doesn't overdo any of his directorial touches, resulting in a film that is relatively low on spectacle and high on emotional relevance. It is this accomplishment that puts HEDWIG far above that "other" summer musical, the far-too-over-the-top-for-its-own-good MOULIN ROUGE. Whereas Bazz Luhrmann drowned that film's emotional subtext in bombast and headache-inducing editing, Mitchell actually heightens the emotional impact of his film by using these devices sparingly.

While some people might shy away from the film's "Jerry Springer Show" premise, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is ultimately a story of love, humanity and redemption. It is not only a very satisfying cinematic experience, it is a film by which to judge all future independent features. If any of them can be half as riveting as HEDWIG, we're going to have ourselves a movie industry packed with interesting entries!

GRADE: A+