An Angry Inch: What Hedwig Has To Work With

John Cameron Mitchell’s vibrant, visionary Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) follows the life of a rock and rolling East German by the name of Hansel from childhood through the moment he truly comes to accept himself as unique.

Escaping with his mother across the Berlin Wall, Hansel is given more freedoms and chances at life than he could have ever otherwise had. He listens to rock music while relaxing in the oven and bounces on the bed in time to American rock legends but even more so to the “crypto-homo” rockers Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop. But still, his relationship with his mother seems somehow squelched even as they spoon in the apartment’s single small bed.

In an attempt to latch onto something—anything—young Hansel transforms at the urging of a handsome American soldier into Hedwig (his mother’s name) and moves to the United States as a married woman. From this moment on, Hansel is Hedwig—and she’s bound and determined to be noticed.

Flash forward a few years. After a series of misfortunes, Hedwig is touring crappy restaurants and bars across the US. He’s following the stadium schedule of uber-star Tommy Gnosis in an attempt to gain his attention and reveal the truth about the Gnosis hit singles. Without revealing too much about Hedwig or Gnosis I’ll just say that the two once knew each other and once shared a great deal.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a bright but also depressing film based on Mitchell’s off-Broadway musical of the same name. Mitchell’s role in the film is incredible. He acts as director and writer in addition to the incredibly convincing transsexual (or is it transvestite?) Hedwig. The costuming was incredible—from Hedwig’s fantastic blonde wigs to her often hilarious stage attire. It was all so wonderful. But Mitchell’s persona and hand in the film is not where the excellence stops.

Tommy Gnosis (portrayed wonderfully by Michael Pitt) is an uncomfortable, uneasy sort of character. Born and raised a devout Christian, Gnosis manages to somehow transform to a lurid rock star type character. Pitt’s woeful eyes make the character. He is equal parts innocence and curiosity. But only so far as viewers will find out mid-way through the film. Other interesting performances include Miriam Shor as Yitzhak not to mention the hoard of “HedHeads” donning blonde foam headpieces.

Also of particular note is the excellent rock n’ roll soundtrack brought to the big screen by Stephen Trask. The hilarious, heartfelt nature of the songs tells the real story of Hedwig and for that matter his “angry inch.” It is via a song that we really learn how it all happened—Hedwig is clearly mad at everybody involved with the procedure and screams in angst on song Angry Inch. Other particularly interesting standouts are The Origin of Love and Tear Me Down. These are great rock tracks even without the aid of the visual medium. Factor Mitchell’s picture into the equation and the songs are even richer and more organic.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is at its core a story about a man who is by birth and by choice different. He is, by his own admission, just looking for love. He feels isolated even from those who have loved him the most and pushes them away both physically and emotionally. So at the same time he so fervently desires to be loved and appreciated he cannot be because he has yet to be totally comfortable with himself. It is only at the end of the film that we see Hedwig in the raw. We see him emotionally and physically naked with no importance paid to his “front” (as he refers to it). Love has nothing to do with the front.

I really do like Hedwig and the Angry Inch; it is a hilarious, strange, entertaining music rock n’ roll romp. I want to wholly recommend it to everybody for the lovely story, acting, costumes, music, and cinematography. But I must hesitate—it is not for the queasy or narrow minded. It is about a transsexual that through surgery has been left with nothing more than an “angry inch” and who seeks to come to terms with his own self. The film earned a number of awards (Sundance, LA Film Critics) and nominations (BAFTA, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit) for good reason.

So in closing I give you a passage from the title song:

My sex-change operation got botched
My guardian angel fell asleep on the watch
Now all I got is a Barbie Doll-crotch
I got an angry inch

Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch
Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch

Enjoy!