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| a film by Richard Spence |
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| 1996 | 97 mins | UK |
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| ›› Different for Girls |
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| a refreshingly honest depiction of a transgender romance |
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starring: Rupert Graves, Steven Mackintosh, Miriam Margolyes, Saskia Reeves, Charlotte Coleman, Neil Dudgeon,
Nisha Nayar, Lia Williams, Ian Dury, Robert Pugh, Philip Davis, Rick Warden, Kevin Allen
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Love comes crashing into motorcycle courier Paul Prentice's life when a head-on encounter with
a taxi brings him in contact with former classmate Karl Foyle. Only the boy back then, is now
a man - or to be more precise a woman, having undergone surgery to emerge as Kim; a lady of
refinement with a successful career as a verse writer for a major greetings card company.
Trouble is, Paul hasn't changed at all; striking out as ever at society and as their
renewed friendship grows, at a police officer whose hands-on approach to crime was
via the middle of Kim's skirt! As her genteel life is turned inside out, Kim
must decide if her knight in shining armour is worth a night in a police
cell and the threat of imprisonment in an all-male jail thereafter.
Essentially a variation on the odd-couple scenario, this touching work from director Richard
Spence whilst complete with a subplot involving Paul's office girlfriend and Kim's relationship
with her sister and army Sergeant husband, is in essence the tale of the friendship between
the principal players, one that appears to be on rocky ground from the start. Only not on
account of the sex change theme of the piece, but by way of the seemingly incompatible
personalities of the two, being opposites in every sense of the, rough - smooth,
neat - untidy, quiet - loud, word.
Keen-eyed viewers however will have a field day spotting many a familiar face, including the
like of Miriam Margolyes as Kim's boss Pamela, Philip Davis as an opinionated taxi driver and
actor and musician Ian Dury as a debt recovery agent. Only it is the central relationship
between the protagonists that make this emotional feature work. Yet here and whilst Rupert Graves of
Maurice
fame excels as the troublesome rebel of the piece, he does not steal the show, given Steven Mackintosh
delivers a remarkably sensitive rendering of a complex character whose inner struggle to live
as the sex opposite to that as anatomically born, highlights the anxieties felt by those
who constantly face the callous genderphobic taunts of the outside world.
As to whether opposites do indeed attract, well that would be saying. But what can be said is the
way in which this BBC Films production treats the subject material, namely with the respect and
dignity that a scenario of this nature deserves. Sure comical touches mix at times unevenly with
cutting edge drama, just as the close bond between the two is showcased by the pivotal
opening school sequence. But between such scenes many an educational point on hormone
therapy and gender adjustment surgery is made, including the key line from Paul
"I am straight you know" promptly followed by Kim's telling response "so am I."
Well acted throughout and complete with a neat newspaper twist at the end, this marks a
refreshingly honest depiction of a transgender romance, namely the very cinematic
ingredients that when applied to a story of this genre, are seldom to be seen.
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| Copyright 2008 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. |
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