TANGERINE: The Only Christmas Movie That Will Ever Matter

Rating: 🍊🍊🍊🍊

Trailer

Set on Christmas Eve, the story of Tangerine begins inside of a Donut Time. Sin-Dee, a transgender sex worker who is back on the streets after being locked up for 28 days meets up with her best friend Alexandra, a fellow sex worker and aspiring singer. While catching up as friends do Alexandra makes the mistake of revealing that Sin-Dee’s fiancé (and pimp) has been unfaithful while she’s been away. Upon hearing this information Sin-Dee goes on an Odyssey of a quest to find the jezebel who has wronged her and reclaim her man, all while causing chaos and strutting across Tinseltown in high heels.

Director Sean Baker has a remarkable talent for creating bold and memorable characters in all his films. Tangerine’s ensemble is no exception as each character will aggressively pull you by the hair on your scalp and drag you with them across Los Angeles, even years after your first viewing. 

Another aspect that makes this film remarkable is that it was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S. And while in 2019 this isn’t too groundbreaking, keep in mind that only 4 years ago this act was revolutionary. One would think that a movie shot an iPhone would lack in cinematography, however this isn’t the case at all as Baker manages to perfectly capture the orange-yellow warm glow that makes Los Angeles look both grimy and beautiful. An impression only deepened as day turns to night and the twinkling Christmas lights and florescent-lit storefronts appear out of the darkened streets. With all these technical elements unblemished, Sean Baker further proves that you don’t need a fancy camera to shoot a great film.

There aren’t too many movies as explosive as Tangerine. This, I believe, is both a positive and negative. Negative in the sense that more films should dare to be as brave as it was — and positive because the world couldn’t handle another film like it.