Hedwig's got Dr. Frank N. Furter beat by more than an angry inch. Despite Dr. Furter's magnetic personality, he's just missing that feminine touch.
All apologies - "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" deserves better than to be compared to its glam-rock, gender-bending predecessor, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The two rock musicals are completely different thematically and in execution. But don't be surprised when "Hedwig" becomes a midnight movie with a cult following in the same vein as "Rocky Horror," costumes included. Fans are calling themselves Hedheads already.
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"Hedwig," winner of the Sundance Film Festival's audience award, is arguably the freshest and most entertaining film this year. Written by, directed by and starring John Cameron Mitchell (who won best director at Sundance), "Hedwig" is the onscreen version of the critically acclaimed off-Broadway production. Mitchell worked with Stephen Trask (the man behind the music) on both the play and the screenplay, and their collaboration has resulted in one fantastic film.
Mitchell has created a completely unique and unforgettable character. Hedwig, born Hansel in East Berlin, is a sexually confused male persuaded by Luther, his "sugah daddy," to undergo a sex-change operation that is botched (the basis for the titular angry inch) so that they can get married and move to America. Hansel, now Hedwig, jumps at the chance to emigrate and looks forward to individual and artistic freedom in America.
Well, things go awry between Hedwig and Luther. Hedwig is left a divorced babysitter in a trailer. Soon she meets 17-year-old Tommy, with whom she falls in love and collaborates musically. Things go awry once again, and Tommy becomes a rock star after stealing (and "f-cking up") all of Hedwig's songs. Yadda yadda ... Hedwig is a woman scorned.
The focus of the film is Hedwig's search for identity, love and fame. Her past surfaces through several flashbacks that take place while her band, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," tours crowdless bars and diners in the present tense.
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Hedwig defies expectations from the get-go, with the opening snarls of "Tear Me Down," the first of many live (no lip synching here) glam-punk-rock performances. This song, and all of Hedwig's songs, are absolutely spectacular.
Trask has come up with some rock-and-roll masterpieces comparable to Queen's best work -- lots of dramatic crescendos and tongue-in-cheek humor...plus Hedwig is stuck in the '80s (she's from East Berlin, remember?).
Songs like "Angry Inch" (in which our heroine brazenly discusses the trauma of her genitalia) and "Tear Me Down" (in which our heroine juxtaposes herself with the Berlin Wall and dares anyone to tear her down) are acutely meaningful.
"The Origin of Love" also deserves a mention, since it explains Hedwig's theory of love, based on a Platonic myth in which each person is unjustly torn in two at creation to become two people who fit together perfectly. Interspersed throughout the film, animated (but graceful) faces and figures act out this tearing apart. The film sees Hedwig searching for an identity by trying to find her other half. ("...But is it a man or a woman?")
Hedwig's 41 costumes are brilliantly designed despite the film's low budget. Arianne Phillips, the designer, must have had so much fun with this. But it was a challenge, too, since Phillips had to make the costumes believable for Mitchell's character. Hedwig could be real; her story could really happen. Pains were taken to avoid turning Hedwig into a cartoon character.
While the concept of the movie may sound uproarious and tres bizarre, there is much more to it. Mitchell's Hedwig is not just a caricature. She becomes a real person instantly, and by the end of the movie, the audience knows her well. After spilling her beans and performing for us (she even gets us to sing along!) for a good two hours, how can we not think of her as a friend?
At times our heroine induces a mosh pit while snarling lyrics like, "Six inches forward and five inches back, I got an angry inch!" At times she sits politely and contemplates the meaning of life and love. Either way, she entertains, and with substance.
"Hedwig" is an acting, directorial, musical and cinematic triumph. Everything in this film works together perfectly to successfully create a believable character and her past, present and future, angry inch and all.
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