Incredibly realistic, including all of the tentative hesitancies and uncertainties of those with gender dysphoria (transsexuals). I spent a good number of years counseling people who were suffering from this issue, and this movie is the most realistic of all that I've seen regarding the issue.
The older male-borns who suffer from gender dysphoria have the most difficult time, because their bodies have endured decades of testosterone shaping and effects. This movie only mildly touches upon that issue. But it's obvious from the plot that this "man born in a woman's body" isn't ready to become a swimsuit-model or a sex-idol. He or she has gender issues which have aged beyond the ability of his/her body to satisfactorily recover from. But the character of the wife, played by Jessica Lange, is done extraordinarily well. The wives of male-born transsexuals struggle not only with the loss of a lifelong sexual partner but their own identity and sexual worth among society, at a time they probably did not expect to have it forced upon them.
Very well-done and realistic.
The older male-borns who suffer from gender dysphoria have the most difficult time, because their bodies have endured decades of testosterone shaping and effects. This movie only mildly touches upon that issue. But it's obvious from the plot that this "man born in a woman's body" isn't ready to become a swimsuit-model or a sex-idol. He or she has gender issues which have aged beyond the ability of his/her body to satisfactorily recover from. But the character of the wife, played by Jessica Lange, is done extraordinarily well. The wives of male-born transsexuals struggle not only with the loss of a lifelong sexual partner but their own identity and sexual worth among society, at a time they probably did not expect to have it forced upon them.
Very well-done and realistic.