Normal

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

In the countryside of the United States of America, Irma Applewood (Jessica Lange) and her husband Roy Applewood (Tom Wilkinson) have been happily married for twenty-five years and they are model citizens in their community.

Roy brings Irma to meet Reverend Dale Muncie (Randall Arney), who is their pastor and friend, to tell that he is a woman trapped in a man's body and he will be submitted to a sex-change operation.

Now Roy has to face the deception of his wife and the intolerance of his colleagues, members of his church and his son Wayne (Joe Sikora). But Irma loves him and after the impact of the news, she understands and supports him with their teenage daughter Patty Ann (Hayden Panettiere) and Roy's boss Frank (Clancy Brown) that is their friend.

"Normal" is a great HBO movie with an ironic title about the life of a middle-aged couple married with children in a small town that is affected by the decision of the husband of changing his sex. The screenplay, direction and performances are top-notch, with Jessica Lange still very beautiful for a fifty-four year-old woman and awesome and courageous performance of Tom Wilkinson. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

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.

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)

Excellent performances by Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson. The screenplay affirms the truth of the adage..."the things we do for love". And it distinguishes love and passion, delineating how each strengthens the other.

The writer/director eschews cliches, demonstrating how small events can sometimes tell a story more powerfully than moments of high drama,

I enjoyed it more on second viewing than first.