Well, New York was fun. But damn, was it cold. No wonder Sean Baker would take his next film after Prince of Broadway, Starlet, to California. He seemed to enjoy the locale so much, he stuck around to direct a second, Tangerine. Let’s hit the streets for another kind of hustle. No slinging knock-off Prada and Louis Vuitton on Broadway here. In Tangerine, life’s about turning tricks, getting paid, and navigating high-octane drama. So, come on — our flight’s boarding.
On Christmas Eve, trans sex worker Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) catches up with her best friend and co-worker, Alexandra (Mya Taylor). Fresh out of a 30-day stint in jail, Sin-Dee tells Alexandra how she intends to share some big news about her pimp and boyfriend, Chester (James Ransone). Alexandra jumps the gun and assumes Sin-Dee wants to break up with him, given he’s been aggressively cheating on Sin-Dee in her absence. This is news to Sin-Dee, who vies to find the woman — assuming there’s just one — Chester’s been sleeping with and confronts her imminent ex.
At the same time, Razmik (Karren Karagulian), a cab driver, weaves his way through L.A., picking up mostly drunk messes, “professionally converging” with Sin-Dee and Alexandra, and outright avoiding his family and their visiting relatives.
The vibrant and moving cinematography of Sean Baker
Despite being shot on three iPhone 5Ss, Tangerine is a timelessly beautiful film. In Prince of Broadway, Sean Baker proved he had a knack for pulling diamonds of frames out of rough circumstances. This ride proves no different, though Baker amplifies his frenetic sense of motion. While this adds an adrenaline-pumping layer of excitement, the director’s calm, tender, and quiet sequences prove to be the most poignant.
However, letting Baker’s craft work its magic 10 years removed from its release might take some compromising. While the camerawork itself is undeniably sound, video taken from a phone’s camera in 2015 isn’t going to look spectacular on a modern television. This shouldn’t significantly take away from your experience, but the semi-pixelated edges may present a short barrier to overcome.
This, contrary to David Lynch’s critique, might make this one of the few films best watched on a phone. The medium creates a level of intimacy that Sean Baker hasn’t quite hit before. You’re right there, walking with Sin-Dee and Alexandra as they exchange Christmas stories and shit-talk strangers.
And Baker knows exactly when to pull back and let the cameras (or phones) roll. After Sin-Dee confronts Chester’s business partner, she has a cigarette at a bus stop. We see only the back of her head as a bus pulls up, the eyes of a poster on us and her. People pour out, averting their eyes and splitting off in different directions around Sin-Dee. The moment — this gaze — reminds Sin-Dee she’s far from normal and accepted. She can’t simply drop drama like Alexandra because it’s a fundamental part of her identity.
With an abrupt “fuck it” and a flick of her cigarette butt, she heads for the subway to track down Chester’s new girlfriend. As she leaves the subway, she ascends into a bright light that completely engulfs her figure. We see her dissipate, off to demand the closure she vies for.
Another powerful sequence finds Alexandra in Razmik’s cab. They enter a carwash before he goes down on her. We watch from the backseat as kaleidoscopic soap pours over the front window. The image speaks to the hidden bliss and intimacy the two share. Both have their secrets, and they finish up just in time for the carwash attendants to wash away the car — and their encounter.
The city of lost hope
Each character in a Sean Baker flick always wants something. In Tangerine, Sin-Dee wants closure, Alexandra wants fame and Razmik just wants to keep his sexuality separate from his family. Unfortunately, reality rarely satisfies us.
Ultimately, Baker’s three leads have to face their truth. The director first speaks to this through Razmik who, after picking up a woman with a pet carrier from the vet, compliments her on how quiet and well-behaved her dog is. Tearfully, she informs him that the kennel is empty.
Later, Alexandra sings at a nightclub that she asks nearly everyone she meets in the film to attend. Only Sin-Dee and Chester’s “girlfriend,” Dinah (Mickey O’Hagan), attend. (Even worse, Alexandra had to pay $80 out-of-pocket to book the performance.) Dinah unintentionally doubles down on the disappointment after the performance, explaining that Alexandra’s sounds won’t connect with a modern audience. Afterward, Alexandra shuts down for almost the entire final act of the film.
And when Sin-Dee arrives back at Donut Time with Dinah, she finds Chester, who reminds her of their engagement. This would be touching if the pimp didn’t immediately reveal himself to be unapologetic sleaze. Razmik also arrives and finds Sin-dee, only for his mother-in-law and later his wife and child to join them, revealing the cab driver’s sex addiction.
Every character momentarily gets what they want, only for those dreams to crumble almost as quickly as they were realized. Baker reminds us nothing proceeds without a hitch, and even seemingly best-kept secrets eventually unfurl, splayed across a dirty donut shop’s floor.
In the final scene, Sin-Dee discovers Alexandra slept with Chester while she was in jail. Trying to focus on her hustle — the one thing Alexandra claimed trumps everything at the start of the film — she gets struck with a cup of piss and a barrage of transphobic slurs. Between crying and vomiting, Alexandra quickly takes her to a nearby laundry mat to wash her clothes and wig. They both sit, exchanging only a few words. Alexandra then takes off her wig and gives it to Sin-Dee. They stare at each other and smile.
L.A. may be a cruel and unforgiving place. But it’s not without love.
Tangerine is a stand-out picture that perfectly encapsulates Baker’s style. Still, he’ll continue to refine it through his next two films. And he’ll do it in two completely different locales. Next time, we’ll travel across the country to (almost) the most magical place on Earth: Kissimmee, Florida.
