Normal

In "Normal", an HBO feature film, a middleaged midwestern farming community family man (Wilkinson) reveals his plans to change gender. The film spends the entire run examining the reactions and adjustments of his family, coworkers, and community as he begins the process of transforming himself from man to woman up to but not including the required surgery. The result is an even, well managed, and delicate drama in which all the characters are exquisitely understanding and empathetic though the guy-to-gal protag does become a bit of a pariah as he moves from aftershave to perfume and there are periodic flare-ups as folks work to get their heads around the notion of a transgender in their midst. Though well executed, there's nothing particularly surprising in the film making it a lukewarm watch for all but those with an interest in the subject. (B)

A beautifully written film, graced with a stunning, brave and transcendent performance from Tom Wilkinson, Normal proves that a sensitive subject can be handled tastefully, humorously, respectfully and with breathtaking subtlety. At the heart of this labor of love is the subject of the tediously restrictive and ultimately damaging nature of gender labels, but this is never depicted in a heavy-handed way; writer Jane Anderson instead creates genuine characters, human and struggling and all-too painfully real.

There are things going on on the surface in this film that will be foreign, and even repellant to a lot of people. But hopefully those who are thoughtful will be able to look beneath that to find a message that we can all hopefully relate to..the idea of loving the soul of a person regardless of their appearance and loving someone selfishly and completely. I could not relate to Tom W's characters gender identity issue nor could I put myself in jessica lange's character's position of dealing with all that. But I was moved by how much these people truly loved each other. The actors did a great job handling a subject that could have easily slipped into the farcical or maudlin. Another good hbo movie product

Writing, acting, and direction were outstanding. I chuckled, laughed, brimmed with tears, during, and thought differently after this film. The character interaction captured so well the kinds of behavior one might see (but not necessarily expect) under such highly unusual circumstances. Midwest setting underscored the challenge and the humanity. HBO should release this to theaters next.

This is a disturbing movie, one not easy to watch. Much more than the formula driven "dysfunction of the month" movie, this tackles a very real medical and sexual problem. It does so candidly and honestly, even using humour in several scenes. Yet it takes neither cheap nor trivial shots and never fails to show deep respect for the problem and for the characters affected by it. It must have been a hard sell to the producers, a movie delving into (and under) a subject that is little understood, which has small public sympathy and which is deeply disturbing to both men and women viewers. Yet it's encouraging that all the comments I read here on IMdb were similar to mine. There was nothing negative. I gave it an 8 rather than a 10 only because Jessica Lange may have been just too much of a saint. Yet who knows what any of us would do if confronted with such a situation in our own marriages. It sparked a good discussion between my wife and I. Any movie that gets you thinking and talking is a good movie.