Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Diagonaldi Very well executed

Steineded How sad is this?

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

tuc35043 This film depicts the story of a man who struggles to have sex reassignment surgery in his fifties. Despite his wife and family's opposition, he is determined to have his sex change. He confesses that since he was young, he felt like he was born in the wrong body and he thinks he is a woman. The story is simple, but in a way not very realistic. It seems too sudden for Roy to become so eager to live the rest of his life as a woman, despite the 25-years of marriage and 50+ years of hiding. Personally, I think the story will be more realistic if scenes of his past history of eagerness and struggles to be a woman are shown.Yet, acting is fantastic, especially for Irma, which compensates for the weakness of the story. She cannot accept the fact in the beginning when she just finds out that her husband wants to have SRS. She accepts gradually and even supports him, to me, it is a very considerate act. Audiences properly burst into tears for the immeasurable love the couple has for each other. The ending is vaguely presented, and the consequence after the surgery is absent. I think this is done on purpose so the story leaves a question to the audience which is " What result do you think the couple deserve?" It is not the best ending, but may be the most decent one.In general, the film is a good one. Bottomless love is strongly emphasized and the acting makes the film works, despite of the not very realistic story.

nardellig This is an incredible powerful movie regarding unconditional love,acceptance and responsibility for ourself and our loved ones. Roy and Irma are a middle class couple with one rebellious adult son and a quick minded teenager daughter. They are a pillar of their small community and active in the local church. During the celebration of their 25th marriage anniversary Roy passes out. The couple go for counseling advice to their pastor. Roy admits that for several years has been struggling against the desire to became a woman because he feels entrapped in a man's body. Irma is flabbergasted and ask Roy to leave the house. Roy goes ahead with his plan to become a female with courage enduring the taunts of his colleagues at work,the bitter irony of his son and the ostracism of his congregation. However Irma eventually ask him to go back living with her and help him in his journey to become Ruth giving him advice and support and acceptance. When the pastor tell her that she is free to divorce Roy she simply says"" Leave him?He is my hearth!!The final moving scene is the night before the sex change operation when Irma hugs Roy and ask him to see his male body nude for the very last time.

Isaac5855 NORMAL was a taboo-shattering TV movie made by HBO that shocked some, offended others, and moved me deeply. This movie, directed and written by Jane Anderson, based on her play, focuses on Irma and Roy Applewood, a small town couple who have been married for over 25 years, have two children and are considered pillars of their community. Roy passes out at a church function one day and Irma thinks there's something physically wrong with him, but it is revealed that Roy has developed a physical illness related to the stress he has put on himself by keeping a secret about himself buried for all these years. Roy finally admits to Irma that he has always felt that he is a woman trapped in a man's body and that he wants to have a sex change operation. Now the twist in this story is that Roy does not want to end his relationship with Irma and even though her entire world has been turned upside down, Irma can't walk away from Roy either and watching these two people deal with this painful revelation is the crux of this story. Roy initially moves out but he realizes he still loves Irma and still wants to be a father to his daughter so he returns home, begins hormone treatments, and starts experimenting with women's clothing in a gradual manner. Of course, this affects all parts of his life drastically...there is a heartbreaking scene where he shows up at his blue collar job wearing earrings and gets beat up because of it. This movie is deeply moving as we watch Roy's inner torment as he tries to be true to himself without destroying his family and watching Irma trying to accept what Roy is going through even though it has completely ripped her world and her whole belief system to shreds. Not to mention Roy and Irma's kids, who have completely different reactions to what is going on. Tom Wilkenson and Jessica Lange deliver two powerhouse performances as Roy and Irma that should have won them both Emmy awards. Hayden Pannetiere lights up the screen as their daughter and Joseph Sikora is solid as their son. Clancy Brown also registers as Roy's boss, who upon learning of Roy's secret, seizes the opportunity to act on some long buried feelings he has always had for Irma. This movie is about tolerance and requires an open mind and patience, as it asks as many questions as it answers. A special film experience for the adult film-goer.

shneur I'm always a big fan of movies where a child character is strong and decisive and propels the action. In this case, however, I found "Patty Ann" a bit too mature to be true, despite Hayden Panettiere's masterful portrayal. And that's pretty much my response to the rest of the story and cast as well: there was some unusually good acting here, but the outcomes strain one's suspension of disbelief. Of course this is, in essence, a love story, so a bit of romanticism should hardly be surprising. All of that said, we have a film dealing with the extremely anxiety-provoking and until recently taboo subject of transgendered persons. Such an endeavor easily could have been impossible to watch, or else comical, or else trite. "Normal" is none of these. We come to understand and share all the characters' pain (how sad that that useful expression has become a cliché!), yet without losing touch with their persistence in hope, or with our own.