Hedwig and the Angry Inch

2001's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is a far milder, less angry and scathing film than I expected.  I was unfamiliar with writer/director John Cameron Mitchell's stage musical of the same name, but that poster suggested a passionate, raucous take down of gender politics and the traditional rock and roll biography.  The filmed version certainly is that, filled with color and great production design (on a relatively small budget) but the venom, if present, was more of a seethe than a scream.  Maybe I'm always surprised to see restraint in an enterprise like this.  Not explicit in any sense.

In flashback, as told by our hero, Hedwig (Mitchell) began life as a boy named Hansel, behind the Iron Curtain in East Berlin.  He was born the year the Wall was constructed.  He suffers the torment any young male who loves glam music and fashion (and Toni Tennille) would.  His mother was stern and made him sing with his head in the oven, so she wouldn't have to hear him.  Hansel finally leaves home when he marries a manly American soldier, but in order to reach the West, he has to undergo a sex change change operation for the vows to recognized.  The surgery is a failure, leaving Hansel with a closed vagina and a one inch piece of flesh dangling where his organ once was.  Hence, "the angry inch".  How can this not create great, pained art in its wake?

Her marriage fails, and soon Hedwig forms a few bands.  Side jobs pay the bills.  She meets a highly confused teenager named Tommy Speck (Michael Pitt).  Confused about his religious faith, his sexuality.  The two realize their talents meld into a wellspring of songs. They become a midwest sensation for a time.  They also become lovers of course, until Tommy discovers the "inch".  Seemed to take longer than expected "("Why don't you love me from the front?!"). The two part ways, and Tommy, previously dubbed "Tommy Gnosis" by Hedwig goes solo and becomes a smash, with Hedwig's tunes.  Hedwig files a lawsuit, but meanwhile plays a series of shows at a low rent seafood chain in each city that Tommy plays auditoriums.  A sort of "stalking".

With each recount, Hedwig is either belting into a microphone or sitting on a pile of tires (a surprisingly inspired idea, there).  We get several performances from Hedwig and her band The Angry Inch, but we learn little about the rest of them.  Especially Yitzhak, her husband, who is continually emotionally abused by the band leader.  I would've liked more between them. Why do they have such a relationship?  We can certainly guess.  The finale does provide a satisfactory arc for Yitzhak.  The final twenty minutes or so are really quite vivid, and are ambiguous enough for all manner of interpretation.

HEDWIG has energy and a good pace, but the music ran hot and cold for me.  This attempt at glam was game and had its exciting moments, but even the heartfelt lyrics weren't enough to really distinguish them. Mitchell does give a fearless performance, and his sincerity is never in question.  I also liked Andrea Martin as his frustrated manager.  Maybe because I've never lived a life like Hedwig I didn't respond to this as strongly.  But there's obviously a lot of truth in this tale, filled with showbiz cliches, but hey, that's where they originate.  I'm finally just happy that HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH didn't ever devolve into an over-the-top camp fest.  There are plenty of those out there....