On the surface, the plot of "Gun Hill Road" sounds potentially predictable. A macho guy returns to his family in the Bronx after spending three years in prison, where he was sexually abused, and finds his wife has taken a lover and his teenaged son is gay / transitioning into a woman.
However, this film transcends predictability thanks to exceptional acting, particularly by Harmony Santana who was transitioning to a female in real life when she took the role as the son, Michael.
Michael is in the midst of becoming the beautiful Vanessa, and although very little information is provided about this in the script, she is undergoing questionable apartment-based treatments. She is also still living a double life: as "Michael" around her family and as "Vanessa" with her friends and at a neighborhood all-ages club where she reads her poetry.
Because Santana was truly transitioning during the filming of "Gun Hill Road," she is extremely believable and natural both physically and emotionally.
Santana lives openly as a woman now and is pursuing more female roles. Hollywood recently cracked open the door for transgender actors, including Candis Cayne who appeared in the film "Stonewall" and the television series "Dirty Sexy Money," as well as the famous son of Cher, Chaz Bono, who is not an actor, but appeared on "Dancing With The Stars."
Judy Reyes, best known as the nurse from "Scrubs," plays Michael's mother and delivers an extremely sweet, soulful performance. She does not portray the stereotyped mouthy, hard-as-nails-on-the-surface Latina woman either. Instead, she is very soft and caring, but still fiercely committed to her personal beliefs as well as her son's choices.
Esai Morales, formerly of "NYPD Blue," is good, too. His character is redeemed a bit too-little-too-late; therefore, we feel very little for him throughout the 88-minute film. Morales plays Enrique, a father who simply cannot accept his son as anything other than the sports-loving kid he built up in his head, and insists that Michael's sexual / gender identity is hurtful and unfair to him.
"What the f*ck does this say about me?" he asks when he finds a trunk full of women's accessories and lingerie in Michael's room.
Part of Morales' anger over his son's "lack of maleness" might come from whatever happened to him in prison as well as his inability to be a functional husband to his lonely wife.
Although she breaks off her affair with a "good" man who accepted Michael as is, she and Morales are far from partners. Morales is unable to kiss her while the two have reunion sex, and his actions toward their son are so harsh that forgiveness from Reyes' character is impossible.
The film, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, goes beyond the specific struggles of the family and addresses the larger issue of homophobia in the Latin community. Although Enrique, Morales' character, is a macho stereotype, there is truth to it.
However, the film also contains characters and references showing that values are shifting and that there's a growing acceptance of homosexuality in the community. Michael's friends, his mother, his mother's lover and even some of Enrique's friends demonstrate this.
Stand-out scenes include when Morales forcibly cuts off Michael's long hair which he tried to hide under a baseball cap. Morales' misguided anger juxtaposed with Reyes' heart-wrenching agony and the soul-crushing deflation of Santana's character is so intense it's almost too much to watch.
Equally as emotionally intense is the scene where Michael (as "Vanessa") loses her virginity to a man who insists she lay on her stomach so he doesn't have to observe her still intact penis. This relationship drives home that, for some, transgender individuals are sexual objects only, not people to love and with whom to enjoy life – especially in public.
"Gun Hill Road" is an important film that reveals the deep-seated complexities of homophobia that exist in all communities, while also providing hope for more acceptance in the future. The overall message, however, suggests that we still have a long, long way to go.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
