Gosh, I have so many mixed feelings. If on one hand I feel like I have just watched a cinematic masterpiece, with the cleverest, wittiest, most insightful dialogue, one of the most striking leading performances I’ve seen in a minute, and insane visuals. On the other, its subject matter is so sensitive and undefined that it makes it incredibly hard to decide whether it tackled it in the right or wrong way.

Queerness is all about breaking free from heteronormative norms and “walls”. Putting a label on Hedwig shouldn’t be a priority whatsoever because the entire point of their character is to inhabit a space free of rules and categories. However, watching this film without further research gets more complicated because there is an inherent focus on gender and genitals throughout that murks the waters a little bit when it comes to what messages it is trying to convey about the transgender experience. It’s purposefully ambiguous which means whatever perspective you want to assume you will find the good and you will find the bad. Right now, I’m in the middle.

Regardless, there’s no denying its pure cinematic achievements and the fact I had a great fucking time watching it. Also - that music.