In the film "Transamerica," about a pre-op transgendered woman (played by Felicity Huffman) who finds out she has long ago fathered a son, the character must go to the home of her parents to ask for help - including the mother from who she has been estranged.
That mother was played by the great actress Fionnula Flanagan and the performance was so extraordinary that I will never forget it. So, it was great to have a chat recently with Flanagan which appears on my HOLLYWOOD JOE site which you can go to to read in its entirety.
But here is an excerpt from our discussion about "Transamerica"...
"I think pictures like 'Transamerica' that have something to say, that showed, why should you have to live what's a stealth life? Why should you have to live in the shadows and always afraid? Always less than or treated less than if you choose to be different? If you are born different? If your lifestyle is different? If you love and care for the people around you and you do your best to make the universe a better place, then aren't you entitled to be treated olike everybody else? To be treated well?"
I mention that Felicity Huffman's character in the movie certainly could have used a mother like Flannigan in the film - and not the monster mother who she portrayed.
"But you know, give her her due, the character I played. She did have the tiniest little change - a little bit of redemption. It wasn't much but given where she came from, it was considerable."