I read about Tangerine on several websites. Most of the information presented focused on how it was shot using several iPhone 5s, and how the soundtrack was pulled together from tracks on SoundCloud. I had no idea what the movie was about until I picked the case while shelving library materials. My interest was piqued, so I checked the movie out. Tangerine kept me hooked from the opening scene. The movie is at times hilarious and heartbreaking, and the music is perfect.
Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) has just been released from a short stint in jail. She meets up with her best friend, Alexandria (Mya Taylor), at a local donut shop, and immediately finds out that her boyfriend/pimp has been cheating on her. Already angered by the news, Sin-Dee becomes deeply enraged by the added news that the person her partner has been seeing is a cisgender woman (i.e. a term used to denote a biological female). Sin-Dee sets out across Los Angeles to find the harlot that has been with her man. Alexandria is not up for Sin-Dee's drama, but is pulled into it anyway.
I really liked Tangerine because it is a well-researched dramatization of what it is like to live on the fringes of society. Specifically, the movie shows how casually bigoted, dismissive, and assaultive people can be towards sex workers, and those individuals who are transgender. Watching Tangerine made me realize that in order to survive in the environment these characters are in, one has to exude confidence and have a “take no prisoners” attitude. Thus, there is Sin-Dee who is brash, and will curse a person the moment they look at her wrong. Then you have Alexandria, who is a no nonsense person who knows exactly what she needs and wants.