Normal

Premiered March 16, 2003 on HBO

Starring Jessica Lange (as Irma Applewood), Tom Wilkerson, Hayden Panettiere
Directed by Jane Anderson
110 min.

See complete credits at Internet Movie Database
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Roy and Irma Applewood, a middle class midwestern couple, have just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary but their lives are turned upside down when Roy reveals that he wants to have a sex change operation. The drama, chaos and conflicting emotions that affect his wife, children and community are beautifully modulated against a subtle backdrop of humor.

Jessica Lange was first attracted to the script because of the wide range of emotions that her character faced - "...I thought that the situation of the story and what the character experiences in these couple of hours, from an actor's point of view, allowed great discovery. It's a big emotional arc that this character goes through. And it's a story about the heart. And that's what really interests me more and more, the investigation of the human heart."

Director Jane Anderson (The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom) delivers a rare film that treats a sensitive subject with touches of humor and pathos yet maintains a balance of respect.

Critical Sampling:

Guiding her character smoothly over a bumpy emotional road, Lange makes Irma a richly sympathetic woman, even in her moments of harshness. - Variety

At the heart of Normal is the one of the most extraordinary love stories I have seen on film in quite some time. Tom Wilkinson plays Roy Applewood, the sad lead character, with such elegance and humanity that I was floored. Jessica Lange is excellent as his confused wife Irma, who at first rejects her "freakish" husband, but then realizes she is still madly in love, and in scenes of beautiful originality declares that she will stay. - Dan Tester, CinemaSpeak

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